A third of parents want right to smack children

ONE-in-three parents believe they should have the right to smack their children, a state-funded study has revealed.

While 42% of parents said smacking should be outlawed, a majority are unsure about imposing a total ban.

Almost a quarter of parents said a ban should depend on the child’s age, with most believing smacking of children younger than five and older than 10 years of age should be prohibited.

The study – Parenting Styles and Discipline: Parents’ and Children’s Perspectives – was funded by the Minister for Children’s office. It found one in four of the 1,300 parents surveyed had smacked their children in the previous year and fathers were more likely to state that smacking should remain legal.

More than 60% of parents felt that smacking was not necessary to bring up a well-behaved child, but 59.6% believed that parents should have the right to smack if they so wished.

ISPCC director of services Caroline O’Sullivan said she understood why a clear support for an outright ban did not emerge.

“I feel that when parents are asked a direct question, like should it be banned completely, their automatic response would be no because they may have been slapped themselves as children and there is the emotional link with their own parents, who weren’t abusive towards them.”

Ms O’Sullivan welcomed the news that 42% of parents supported a ban on smacking, compared with just 14% in Scotland. “I think this report is really positive. Parents have been incredibly honest when asked about how they discipline their children and are open to looking at other options besides physical punishment.”

The children interviewed believed that while smacking stopped bad or dangerous behaviour, it had no long-term positive effect.

The Children’s Rights Alliance said the Government should act on the commitment it gave in 2005 to ban corporal punishment.