I was very interested to see the wide reporting earlier in the month about the findings of UCL research into smacking of children. The study, Physical punishment and child outcomes in the UK, used information from a long-running study of 19,000 children who were born in the UK between 2000 and 2002. The report states unequivocally that ‘Physical punishment of children is harmful and must be banned in England and Northern Ireland’. Researchers found that children in England who experienced physical punishment at the ages of three, five, and seven were 5.7 percentage points more likely not to get five GCSE grades A* to C. Similarly, children who experienced physical punishment at all three ages were 40 percent more likely to engage in risky behaviours towards others by age 14 (such as bullying or having hit, shoved, or pushed someone).
Lead author Dr Anja Heilmann (UCL Epidemiology & Public Health) said: “Our findings corroborate previous evidence that physical punishment has no benefits and is linked to detrimental outcomes for children’s development and wellbeing. Therefore, our main recommendation is that England and Northern Ireland should follow Scotland and Wales and remove the legal defence of reasonable punishment.”
Personally, I completely agree with the commitment not to smack children, but because I’m an honest person, I have to admit that I did smack my own children. They’re now in their 30s and 40s, and it was still considered an acceptable form of discipline when they were children.
I suppose over the years, I’ve come to realise that there are much more effective ways to manage children’s behaviour; and constructive and positive behaviour management is something I really enjoy training on.
Parents need more than being told ‘Don’t smack’ – they need to be given alternative strategies and explanations of why they work and why they are better – for both their children and for them as parents.
If your setting struggles with behaviour management or with providing help to parents in this area, I am very happy to come and work with you or your group to explore these strategies.