I KNOW my views will upset a lot of people. The BEN frequently prints letters in which the writer blames the yob culture and crime on the lack of smacking children, and disciplining them by use of the cane. I believe precisely the opposite. Much of today's problems are the result of parents hitting their children.
Children usually respect their parents and believe what they do is right. If their parents hit them, they grow up to believe that physical violence is acceptable behaviour, and that if it is right to hit a child it is obviously right to hit an adult.
Children should of course be punished for their "crimes", but a child's life moves on so quickly a smack is soon forgotten. Children should be punished by depriving them temporarily of one of their pleasures, to give them time to think of their misdemeanour and regret it. Sending a child up to his or her room till he or she "can behave like a civilised human being" works well.
Some of your letter-writers refer to people with my views as "do gooders". I know a bit about bringing up children. After all I fathered six, adopted another and had 41 foster children for various periods -- none of whom, as far as I am aware, have been in trouble with the police or show any sign of violent behaviour.
As a man in my eightieth year, I consider the majority of young people far better than we were in my generation. But we did not have the same opportunity to misbehave.
In my teenage years government and local government had the means and the will to protect their property and people. We had caretakers, night watchmen, park keepers, car park attendants, market attendants etc. Above all we had bobbies on the beat, with police stations with police tenants on every estate. From those days I still remember Bobby Brash, Bobby Jock, Bobby Eton, Bobby Walton. It is years since I knew the name of a bobby in my area, and years since I saw a bobby on the local beat.
Some of your letter writers would like to bring back the cane, the stocks, the ducking stool, the cat o' nine tails, but civilisation moves on.
George K Brown
Barncroft Road
Farnworth
Bolton
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