Hong Kong parents are generally kind and affectionate to their children and resort to corporal punishment occasionally at emotional moments, revealed a survey by the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB). The survey also suggested more parenting education instead of legislation against corporal punishment.

The DAB conducted a telephone survey on public views on corporation punishment from October 20 to 26. Of the 1317 respondents, 579 are parents who have under-aged children.

The majority of these parents prefer to discipline their children with more civil means, as only 5 per cent will usually hit their children after they misbehave. About 28 per cent will turn to scolding, and 63 per cent will explain to the children what they have done wrong.

Only 8.8 per cent resorted to corporal punishment on their children regularly in the last year, while 45.5 per cent did so occasionally. Most of the beating was not premeditated, as 62 per cent of these parents only hit their children with their hands. The majority of the parents (72.9 per cent) was also remorseful and admitted to feeling guilty afterwards.

"It shows that most parents don't intend to be mean, and they don't always agree with using corporal punishment," said Greg So, Director for Young DAB. "Over half of the respondents believed corporal punishment could ruin their relationships with children and it would affect the children's development."

The root of the problem, Vice-Chairman for DAB Tam Yiu-chung noted, lies in the lack of parenting education in Hong Kong, as over half of the respondents have not attended any course or read any books on parenting.

"We hope the Family Commission as proposed in the Policy Address can be set up as soon as possible, in order to promote parenting education in local schools and the community," said Tam.

Despite the call for legislation against corporal punishment among the public, So remarked that it could make topic more confusing for the public, since corporal punishment is not equivalent to domestic violence.

"It depends on the degree of physical punishment and its result," So said. "There are existing regulations against physical assaults on other persons. I believe it will suffice to educate parents on what constitutes an offence and what doesn't."

Corroborating So, solicitor Daniel Or also pointed out the possible complications in enforcing legislation over the issue, since it will be difficult to draw the line and it could cause more harm than good in parent-children relationships.

"It could serve as an instant 'painkiller' to the situation, but the parents and children may hold grudges forever," Or said. "Improving family relationships requires long-term efforts, not instant and negative means."

Ada Mak, specialist in early childhood education, also said that improved communication between parents and schools should help tackle the problem effectively.

"We need to investigate what happened and why the parents hit their children, before we make conclusions and follow up the cases," said Mak. "A better way of solving the problem would be to invite the parents to more seminars and workshops on parenting, so we can work together to promote the children's well-being," Mak said.