Disproving the myth that spanking is harmless based on long-term evidence and rising alternatives

Recent research challenges the notion that spanking is a harmless disciplinary technique, highlighting its links to worse behavioural and developmental outcomes and advocating for positive, non-violent alternatives.

The long-running argument that spanking is harmless because “I turned out fine” does not survive the evidence. Research compiled over the past two decades has repeatedly found that physical punishment is linked to worse child outcomes, not better ones, and that pattern appears in both short-term behaviour and longer-term development. A 2016 meta-analysis by Elizabeth Gershoff and Andrew Grogan-Kaylor, drawing on more than 160,000 children across 111 studies, found associations between spanking and 13 of 17 negative outcomes, including higher aggression, more defiance, more antisocial behaviour, mental health problems and lower cognitive ability. It found no evidence that spanking improved behaviour either immediately or over time. Scientific American, reviewing that work, described the findings as a broad warning against treating hitting as an effective discipline method.

The most persuasive studies are the ones that follow children over time, because they are better at separating cause from coincidence. A 2021 review in The Lancet examined 69 longitudinal studies and reported that none found physical punishment improved children’s behaviour; instead, it predicted worse behaviour. The effect did not depend on sex, ethnicity or whether parents were otherwise warm and supportive. That matters because it undercuts a common defence of spanking: that it can be kept small, loving or occasional without causing harm. The evidence suggests the opposite, namely that the method itself is the problem.

Child health experts have drawn the same conclusion. In 2018, the American Academy of Pediatrics urged parents to avoid corporal punishment and to rely instead on positive discipline, clear limits and consistent follow-through. The academy cited research linking more frequent spanking in early childhood with greater aggression later on, as well as weaker vocabulary scores in middle childhood. It also noted that harsh physical or verbal punishment can heighten stress responses in children and interfere with healthy brain development. Taken together, the guidance reflects a shift away from punishment that frightens children and towards discipline that teaches them.

The debate does not stop at home. The United States remains one of the few countries where corporal punishment is still permitted in some public schools, even though many states have banned it. The article’s figures show that 15 states still allow school paddling, and that federal data recorded almost 32,000 incidents in the 2021-22 school year, with the vast majority concentrated in a handful of Southern states. The same account says Black boys and Black girls are punished at school at disproportionately high rates, and that students with disabilities are also more likely to be hit. Those disparities raise a further concern: a discipline practice that is already disputed on scientific grounds is also falling most heavily on children who are least able to absorb its consequences.

For parents looking for something practical, the alternatives are neither mysterious nor indulgent. The CDC recommends positive attention, selective ignoring of minor misbehaviour, logical consequences, short time-outs and calm, immediate warnings that are followed through consistently. The American Academy of Pediatrics similarly emphasises advance expectations and predictable responses. In schools, the article points to behaviour-support programmes, restorative approaches, mentoring and counselling as ways to teach accountability without normalising violence. Those methods may require more patience than a slap, but the evidence suggests they are far more likely to help children learn self-control rather than fear.