New SA law will make it illegal for parents to spank their children at home

[Dan]

I dispute the bold part above. Did you break another window after that or where you more careful? I'm sure you were more careful so it did have an effect.

No, but I went on to do dozens more naughty things as most kids do. It's easy to write off a smack, especially as you get older, but I can't help but think that if I'd rather been taught properly or even just given rewards for good behaviour then I might've been less of a handful. Why repeatedly punish the results of bad behaviour when you can try to stop the cause?

Of course that is the natural human thing to do, but this is not the government's place to meddle.

I totally agree on this; sorry, I've steered the discussion more in the direction of the ethical and practical aspects rather than the government issue.

Being that I'm totally libertarian, I believe the government has no right to tell us how to raise our kids. Similarly, I believe I have no right to tell you how to raise yours, and vice versa.

So, in summation: To each their own, and STFU government