Friday, October 26, 2007

Carl I. Hagen sees no reason not to use careful
physical punishment in childrearing.

Bring back smacks


Former Progress Party leader Carl I. Hagen said he is grateful that his father used corporal punishment and believes today's parents should have the option of smacking their children.

Hagen said that a "caring but mild form of punishment" must be acceptable.

"For me it was a question of giving my children a little slap on the hand," Hagen told newspaper VG. "I have always wanted to say things like this before but then I would have to suffer for it," Hagen said.

Labour politician Aslam Ahsan, leader of the Resource Center for Pakistani Children, agreed with Hagen.

"A mild form of physical punishment, like a box on the ear or a smack, must be accepted for children that repeatedly break the rules. The child must be old enough to understand why the punishment is given, and one must explain to the child what it has done wrong," Ahsan told VG.

Commissioner for children Reidar Hjermann stuck to the Norwegian line that corporal punishment for children is wrong. Physical punishment leads to the opposite of what we want, instead of secure children, we get insecure children, he told VG.

(Aftenposten English Web Desk/NTB)


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