Smacking children could lead to lower GCSE grades, study suggests

Prof Ellie Lee, a family and parenting researcher at the University of Kent, said while the results of the UCL study sounded “plausible”, there was a “rush to try and find silver bullets and single causes, when most things that happen as part of child development are relatively multifactorial”.

Lee, who is also part of the Be Reasonable England campaign, which supports the use of smacking, said: “It would be great if we could just be nice to children and think they would just be nice back.

“But the reality of it is, is that in order for children to understand the rules of society, and to learn how to behave in a way that is moral, and that is good, we have to have boundaries, and boundaries have to be backed up.”

Scotland became the first part of the UK to outlaw physical punishment of under-16s with a ban on parents smacking their children becoming law in 2020. Wales followed suit in 2022 but in Northern Ireland and England it is still legal.

Some argue a ban would offer young people legal protection against assault, while others said it could criminalise parents.

Amy Woods, the owner of Baby College in Salford, said she wants to see a ban in England and “couldn’t believe that there wasn’t one already”.

“Children need warmth, they need responsive relationships and they need play to thrive, definitely not violence at a young age,” she said.

Sarah, who attends the playgroup with her 10-month-old son Joshua, said she was also surprised smacking was still legal.

“I don’t think it’s a very good example to be setting to kids,” she said. “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’.”