How to discipline children without smacking
| Published date | 24 April 2024 |
| Publication title | Huddersfield Daily Examiner |
If a child is smacked, hit or slapped in England and Northern Ireland at the moment, parents can claim it was 'reasonable punishment' and avoid breaking the law. The Children Act 2004 says it is currently only unlawful to assault a child causing actual or grievous bodily harm, or cruelty.
The law is different in Scotland and Wales, though - Wales made any type of corporal punishment, including smacking, hitting, slapping and shaking, illegal in March 2022, while Scotland had already introduced a similar ban in 2020.
"Currently, the law is clear that physical assault against another person is unacceptable - except for children, the smallest and most dependent members of our society, where the law allows a degree of violence in child-raising," explains Bess Herbert, an advocacy specialist for End Corporal Punishment at the World Health Organisation.
She says the current law sends "a very confusing message" and suggests to parents and carers that physical punishment must be okay, when it has no benefits at all.
keeping quiet when you need them to or sharing their toys. But Joanna stresses it's important to "praise children whenever possible for all they do".
And Matt stresses: "In the longterm, it works much better to praise and encourage your child's good behaviour than it does to punish the things you don't want. Simply spending time with your child doing things you both enjoy has been shown to help children behave better.
"Praise and support takes more time and works a bit more slowly, but they're much more fun and build the loving relationships parents want."
Reward good behaviour As well as praise, rewarding good behaviour will encourage children to repeat the behaviour in future. "Reward positive behaviour and consider asking what would be a good reward," suggests Joanna. Be realistic It's unrealistic to expect your child to behave perfectly all the time, says Matt.
"Misbehaviour or a lack of cooperation is only a problem if it starts to occur often and is frequent enough to raise stresses in the family or get in the way of positive relationships. Acting quickly before problems escalate, and focusing attention on positive behaviour, will make a big difference.
"Your goal as a parent is to support your child to be as independent as...
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