SMACKING CHILDREN

MAKES THEM AGGRESSIVE

Smacking makes children’s behaviour “worse not better,” according to a new study. US researchers found that the practice makes youngsters “more aggressive.” The study, which follows less than a month after Scotland joined the list of countries to ban smacking children altogether, adds to a growing case against the use of corporal punishment. Dr Elizabeth Gershoff of the University of Texas at Austin, who led the study, has conducted extensive research into the use of smacking on children and has concluded that it is “making them more aggressive and more antisocial.” Dr Gershoff and her collaborators recorded the behaviour of children whose parents did not smack them and those that did, as reported by their teachers. Their findings showed a clear distinction between the groups, with an increase in behavioural problems from the age of 5 to 8. “What smacking teaches them is that when the parent is around, they should behave, otherwise they will be hit,” she said. “The child does not learn how to manage themselves when the parent is not around.” Currently, 53 nations have a total ban on smacking children.