Study finds smacking children increases aggression, harms brain development

Smacking children increases aggression, harms brain development and should be banned, an international group of paediatricians has ruled.

EXCLUSIVE: Smacking children increases aggression, harms brain development and should be banned, an international group of paediatricians has ruled.

The world-renowned American Academy of Pediatrics strengthened its stance on corporal punishment, with its new policy ruling it is ineffective in teaching children responsibility.

The body, which represents 67,000 US paediatric doctors, says methods that teach children right from wrong are safer and more effective.

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“Fewer parents support the use of spanking than they did in the past,” the policy’s author Robert Sege said. “Yet corporal punishment remains legal, despite evidence that it harms kids — not only physically and mentally, but in how they perform at school and how they interact with other children.”

Research complied by the academy shows corporal punishment does not improve behaviour and may cause more aggressive behaviour.

In one study, young children who were spanked more than twice a month at age 3 were more aggressive at age 5 and had negative behaviours at age 9.

Other studies showed striking a child, yelling at or shaming them can elevate stress hormones and lead to changes in the brain.

Harsh verbal abuse is also linked to mental health problems in preteens and adolescents.

istock. Father hitting son

The policy, published in the latest edition of the journal Pediatrics, is widely supported by Australian doctors.

In 2015 the Royal Australasian College of Physicians urged doctors to show families better ways of disciplining children than smacking. Professor Kim Oates, of the University of Sydney said hitting children was “unacceptable”.

“All children need discipline, but physical punishment is one of the least effective forms of discipline and can have adverse consequences for some children, such as aggressive behaviour and sometimes poor mental health,” he said.

Parenting expert Jodie Benveniste said hitting kids was not effective.

“It is much more effective to take a positive approach that focuses on teaching our children what’s appropriate, involving our children in the problem and the solution, and reinforcing accountability of our children’s and our own behaviour,” she said.

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