But according to Terry Grange, child protection spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers, the impact of a smack has little to do with force. It's down to the softness of your hands - determined by your social class - and perhaps whether or not you regularly moisturise. He told MPs, 'Working class families tend to have much rougher hands than lawyers, bankers, etc', the Daily Mail reported.
New research involving brain scans in children counters the theory that children should be left to cry. The Observer reported on Professor Margot Sunderland's study that found that 'controlled crying' not only damages babies' brains but also produces angry, anxious adults.
Meanwhile, celebrity mum Gwyneth Paltrow has opted for the 'less is more' approach to raising her daughter, Apple. The Daily Telegraph described her as an 'enthusiastic champion' of the book Trees make the best mobiles by Jessica Teich and Brandel France de Bravo, which focuses on a 'back-to-basic ideology of spending less and listening more'.
