Smacking young children may be associated with poorer school performance and a higher likelihood of risky behaviour in adolescence, according to new research that has renewed calls for a change in the law in England and Northern Ireland.
The study, led by University College London, examined data from around 19,000 children born in the UK between 2000 and 2002, looking at their experiences at the ages of three, five and seven. Researchers then compared later outcomes, including school results in England and behaviour at age 14.
The findings do not prove that smacking directly caused poorer grades or riskier behaviour. The research was observational and based on family questionnaires, meaning other factors in a child’s life may also have played a role. But the authors said the pattern was clear: they found no positive effect from physical punishment, while the associations they did identify pointed towards harm.
A Link With School Performance
As part of the research, the team examined the records of 7,559 pupils in England through the National Pupil Database. Children who had been physically punished in early childhood were more likely to miss a key school attainment benchmark later on.
The likelihood of not achieving five GCSE passes at grades A* to C, including English and maths, rose by 5.7 percentage points among children who had been smacked, according to the study.
Researchers also found that by the age of 14, children who had experienced physical punishment earlier in childhood were 33% more likely to report risky behaviours, including bullying.
Associate Professor Anja Heilmann, the study’s lead researcher, said the evidence did not support the idea that smacking helps children learn or behave better.
She said the hope was that smacking would end across the UK, giving children the same protection from physical assault that adults already have.
Pressure for Legal Change
The findings have strengthened calls from campaigners for England and Northern Ireland to follow Scotland and Wales, where physical punishment of children has already been outlawed.
Scotland became the first part of the UK to remove the defence of “reasonable punishment” in 2020. Wales introduced its ban in 2022. In England and Northern Ireland, smacking remains legal in some circumstances.
The Department for Education in England said there were no plans to change the law, while stressing that children’s safety and wellbeing remained a government priority.
In Northern Ireland, Justice Minister Naomi Long said she supported removing the defence of reasonable punishment, a move that would effectively ban smacking. Proposals to do so were recently dropped from legislation progressing through the Northern Ireland Assembly, but Long said she would continue to campaign for reform.
Debate Over Parenting and Boundaries
Opponents of a ban argue that changing the law could unfairly target parents and oversimplify the realities of raising children.
Professor Ellie Lee, a family and parenting researcher at the University of Kent and a member of the Be Reasonable England campaign, said the results of the UCL study sounded plausible but warned against treating smacking as a single explanation for complex outcomes in child development. She said children needed boundaries and that those boundaries had to be supported in practice. Campaigners for a ban reject that argument, saying physical punishment sends children the wrong message and risks normalising violence at home.
Amy Woods, who runs Baby College in Salford, said children needed warmth, responsive relationships and play, not violence, to thrive. Sarah, a mother attending the playgroup with her 10-month-old son Joshua, said she was surprised smacking was still legal and questioned the message it sends to children.
“If they do something wrong, like hit someone, and you smack them back, it doesn’t really reinforce the message of ‘this isn’t ok’,” she said.
The UCL study also found that one in five 10-year-olds had experienced some form of physical punishment when monitored in 2021. Mothers with higher levels of education were found to be less likely to use physical punishment.
Source: BBC
