SOMETIMES things just coalesce. What starts out as a vague notion crystallises into a fully-formed idea.

I wandered into town last week to get my lunchtime sandwich and not for the first time my attention was drawn to a mother shouting at a small child in a pushchair.

Sadly it’s an all too common sight in this part of the world.

The mum appeared to have a complete lack of self awareness (or maybe a complete lack of shame) as she loudly remonstrated with the toddler.

This rather unpleasant little slice of life came to an abrupt end when the mum slapped her daughter’s legs, causing the little girl to cry.

The mum then rammed her daughter back in the pushchair and stormed off in the direction of McDonald’s.

This very public display got me thinking about the nature of smacking and corporal punishment in general and how our attitude to punishing children has changed, I think for the better, over the years.

I say changed for the better but the message obviously hasn’t quite reached our townie mum.

And then lo and behold, up steps the Scottish Parliament – who would have thought?

According to the BBC, smacking is to be banned in Scotland and the move would make the country the first part of the UK to outlaw the physical punishment of children.

The Scottish government has apparently confirmed it will ensure a bill lodged by Green MSP John Finnie will become law.

When the bill is enacted it will give children the same legal protection from assault as adults.

As the law in Scotland currently stands, parents can claim a defence of ‘justifiable assault’ when punishing their child – although the use of an ‘implement’ is banned.

Happily, shaking children or hitting them on the head is also illegal.

The proposed new Scottish law contrasts somewhat with the law in on smacking in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, where parents are currently allowed to use ‘reasonable chastisement’.

What that means is our townie mum is free to whack little Beyonce or whatever her name is without fear of prosecution as long as it doesn’t leave a mark or cause bruising, swelling, cuts, grazes or scratches.

I come from a generation where corporal punishment of children wasn’t just accepted, it was almost encouraged – spare the rod and spoil the child and all that.

And it wasn’t just parents wielding the stick.

Adhering to the principle of in loco parentis, teachers could (and did) beat me with a variety of implements including canes, a wooden paddle and a leather strap.

I still find it hard to comprehend there must have been factories out there specifically manufacturing what were essentially instruments of torture for small boys.

Thankfully, in state-run schools and private schools where at least part of the funding came from government, corporal punishment was outlawed by the British Parliament in 1986, lagging some way behind Poland which was the first nation to outlaw corporal punishment in schools 1783.

When I became a parent myself, and being from a less-enlightened generation, smacking was still an option as far as discipline was concerned (and at the time wasn’t even frowned on by society in general).

Without wishing to sound like a wishy-washy do-gooder, I stepped away from smacking my son.

I did not want him growing up believing that the way to resolve difficult and confrontational situations was by resorting to physical violence.

I think I was right on that one.

What a pity, then, that the Catholic religious who taught me at my grammar school didn’t have such an enlightened take on life.

All very Catholic, not very Christian.