Corporal punishment: What parents and caregivers need to know

But child development research tells a different story. 

Data shows that corporal punishment doesn’t just fail to improve children’s behavior—it actively harms children’s development, erodes trust in their parent or caregiver, and damages their long-term well-being. 

Many parents who use corporal punishment aren’t acting out of cruelty or a desire to harm their child—they may not have access to positive parenting knowledge, tools or successful discipline alternatives.  

This guide exists to change that—exploring what research tells us about corporal punishment and the evidence-based alternatives that work, so parents are equipped with the knowledge they need to help their children thrive. 

What is corporal punishment?  

Corporal punishment is the use of physical pain to correct a child’s behavior and dissuade them from repeating the same behavior in the future.   

Examples of corporal punishment may include:  

— Spanking or swatting: Using an open hand or palm to smack a child. 

— Spanking with an aid: Using equipment like a belt, slender tree branch (switch), cane, ruler, kitchen utensil or other item to strike a child. 

— Paddling: Using a wooden paddle to strike a child. Most frequently implemented in school settings. 

— Pinching, pulling hair, dragging or shaking: Using a tight grip to pinch, pull hair, drag or jostle a child in order to inflict pain. 

Parents or caregivers may use corporal punishment because they believe it’s an immediate way to alter a child’s behavior or because their own parents used corporal punishment on them as a child.  

However, data continues to show that corporal punishment is ineffective—and ultimately harmful for children’s development and long-term health. Many experts cite that corporal punishment violates children’s rights to safety, health and dignity as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, especially as corporal punishment can escalate into severe abuse. 

How is corporal punishment harmful to children?  

Child development research continues to solidify corporal punishment as an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), a traumatic event that occurs in a child’s life before age 18.  

Corporal punishment triggers toxic stress—the prolonged or repeated activation of the body’s stress response system—which disrupts children’s healthy brain development, negatively impacts their mental health and leaves a lasting impact on their long-term well-being.  

Corporal punishment also negatively impacts children by:  

— Causing physical, psychological and/or emotional harm 

— Damaging the safe, trusted relationship between them and their parent or caregiver, which is proven to be children’s most powerful protective factor against trauma 

— Teaching children to accept—and use—violence in their relationships with others 

— Leading to impaired or slowed cognitive development and poorer academic performance due to chronic stress 

Why corporal punishment doesn’t work 

Some parents believe that corporal punishment works because many children often immediately stop the triggering behavior. However, it’s been proven that corporal punishment doesn’t change children’s long-term behavior.  

In fact, it could unintentionally encourage the behavior a parent is trying to correct. Children crave attention, and—though negative—corporal punishment is a form of attention, so children may misbehave or repeat undesirable behaviors in order to feel seen or noticed by their parent or caregiver. 

Corporal punishment fails to:  

— Teach a child preferred behavior. Spanking or other forms of physical punishment might stop a child’s behavior in the moment, but it doesn’t teach them what to do instead or even why their original behavior was wrong—leading them to behave only out of fear of punishment, not out of a shared value system or moral understanding.   

— Teach a child how to manage their emotions. Children might internalize this pattern of negative emotion resulting in negative behavior and implement it in their own life. For example, a child sees their parent is frustrated, disappointed or angry and responds to that emotion with aggression. When the child feels any strong emotion, they may respond with a behavioral outburst rather than attempting to self-regulate.  

— Teach a child how to handle conflict without violence. Children’s mirror neurons (also known as “copycat cells”) memorize the behavior observed and make it more likely that the child will repeat what they’ve experienced in the future. When a parent hits their child, they model that behavior as an acceptable way to communicate or handle conflict with someone they love. 

How to correct a child’s behavior without corporal punishment 

Research continues to highlight effective alternatives to corporal punishment that help foster children’s healthy cognitive and emotional development, strengthen family relationships and internalize values that will guide them through life.  

Effective alternatives to corporal punishment include:  

— Positive reinforcement: Reward desirable behavior with praise, attention or rewards to increase the likelihood that it will happen again. For this method of behavior modification to be effective, be sure to use specific praise immediately after the behavior occurred.  

• An example of positive reinforcement: You ask your child to clean up their toys. As soon as they finish storing them correctly, you might say, “Thank you for packing up all your toys so neatly!”  

• Tip: Use rewards like stickers, small toys or treats sparingly to ensure your child develops intrinsic motivation.  

— Natural consequences: This discipline method focuses on naturally occurring consequences of a child’s actions or choices. Natural consequences happen without adult intervention and teach cause-and-effect, responsibility and decision-making by allowing children to learn by experience.  

• Examples of natural consequences: A younger child might leave their toy outside, and it’s damaged by the rain. An older child might not be able to wear their favorite shirt because they forgot to wash it.  

• Tip: For this method to be effective, remember to lead with empathy so that learning is not associated with shame or defensiveness. You might respond to your child’s complaint by saying, “I’m sorry your toy was ruined” or “I’m sure it was frustrating not to be able to wear what you wanted today.” Then, foster your child’s learning by focusing on future choices. You might ask, “How could you keep that from happening in the future?” A younger child might answer that they should bring their toys inside after playing or the older child may respond that they will pick out their outfit the night before to ensure they can wear what they want. This helps foster your child’s problem-solving, decision-making skills, emotional regulation and even resilience without instilling a fear of failure or punishment. 

— Logical consequences: This discipline strategy ensures the outcome directly relates to the punishment, which helps teach a child responsibility. Unlike natural consequences, logical consequences are chosen and imposed by a parent or caregiver. Logical consequences include repairing damage, losing a privilege related to misuse or even redoing a task.  

• Examples of logical consequences: A younger child might draw on the wall, and the logical consequence that follows is that child has to clean the wall. An older child may refuse to wear mittens when they play outside, so the logical consequence is that they have to come inside. 

• Tip: When choosing logical consequences, remember to follow the 3 R’s:  

— Related: Is the consequence directly connected to the misbehavior?  

— Respectful: Is the consequence delivered calmly, focusing on the behavior itself rather than shaming or punishing the child? 

— Reasonable: Is the consequence fair and proportionate to the child’s age and action? 

These positive discipline methods are a positive parenting strategy. Research continues to show that positive parenting—an evidence-based parenting approach that focuses on nurturing, loving and respectful interactions—promotes stronger parent-child relationships, improves children’s mental health and academic performance, and reduces behavioral issues. 

 Learn more about how positive parenting strengthens families. 

How you can help children grow with positive parenting 

The research is clear: Children thrive when they feel safe, seen and loved by the adults in their lives.  

Every time you choose a loving, evidence-based response over physical punishment, you are doing more than managing behavior. You are building the kind of relationship that protects your child for life. 

When you support evidence-based approaches, like SOS Children’s Villages family strengthening model, you’re helping another child thrive with the priceless gift of a loving parent or caregiver.   

Because love matters. 

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