Call for complete ban on smacking children as new growing number say it's 'unacceptable'

Campaigners have called for a total ban on smacking children as new figures show a growing number of parents believe it is unacceptable to use physical punishment.

Polling for the NSPCC by YouGov shows a huge majority - 81% - of parents with a child under 18 say using force, however slight, against a child crosses the line. This is up slightly from 80% last year and from 76% in 2023.

The child protection charity said 59% also support a change in the law. Wales made any type of corporal punishment, including smacking, hitting, slapping and shaking, illegal in March 2022. Scotland introduced a similar ban in November 2020.

In England it is unlawful to hit your child, except where it is a "reasonable punishment" defence, and this is judged on a case-by-case basis. The NSPCC says kids are not fully protected as a result.

Chris Sherwood, CEO at the NSPCC, said: “Parents and young people are telling us loud and clear that they don’t want physical punishment to be a part of anyone’s childhood."

“Parents know their children and what works best for them. It is therefore crucial their experiences and opinions are not ignored or undermined, but act as a wakeup call."

He said MPs must use the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill "to change the law to better reflect public attitudes to violence against children and ensure no childhood has to be tainted by physical punishment again.”

Lynn Perry, Chief Executive of Barnardo’s, said: “Violence against children is unacceptable - and yet children continue to have less legal protection against physical assault than adults. That cannot be right. This new data shows that most parents agree.

“We have long campaigned for a change in the law to give children equal protection from assault and continue to call for action. It's time for all children to be legally protected from all physical punishment everywhere in the UK.”

YouGov surveyed 3,800 adults across England in July, of which 749 were parents with a child under 18.

A Department for Education Spokesperson said: “The landmark Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, a key part of our Plan for Change, represents the most transformative piece of child protection legislation in a generation, including wholesale reform of the children’s social care system and better information sharing between education, health, and social workers to stop vulnerable children falling through the cracks. While we are looking closely at the legal changes made in Wales and Scotland in relation to smacking, we have no plans to legislate at this."

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