Few tears will be shed for passing of threats from parents

Few tears, if any, will be shed at the passing of an era when the threat of parents using the wooden spoon hung over the children of Ireland. 

The imposition of a ban on a child being slapped in the home is a positive development and ought to be welcomed as such.

Of course, some people will complain that, by introducing the ban, Children’s Minister James Reilly has provided us with yet another glaring example of the so-called nanny state in operation.