Leading doctors are demanding a smacking ban in England to give children the ‘fundamental right to safety and protection’.
Experts from a range of medical specialities, including paediatricians and psychiatrists, say decades of research shows the ‘detrimental effects of physical punishment’.
The Children Act 2004 makes it is unlawful to hit your child - except where it is ‘reasonable punishment’.
But this defence is judged on a case-by-case basis and the critics warn it is 'vague and dangerous’.
It increases the risk of serious physical assault and negatively affects children's development, they add.
