Most of us have been there: out with friends and their kids, you catch yourself thinking “I wouldn’t shout at her that way”, or “that seems indulgent”. The rule in this situation is to bite your tongue: unless you see someone doing something cruel to a child, unsolicited parenting advice is a big no-no in a world where there are as many views on the right way to parent as there are people who’ve been parented.
A macro version of this sentiment seems to be driving the government’s reluctance to unequivocally ban parents hitting their children. Last week, ministers again rejected calls to prohibit physical punishment for children in England. A year ago, Nadhim Zahawi – then education minister – said that the state shouldn’t be “nannying people about how they bring up their children”.
