Smacked children perform worse academically and bully more, research shows. A major study by University College London (UCL), tracking nearly 19,000 children born in the UK between 2000 and 2002, has found that physical punishment at ages three, five and seven leaves a measurable mark on a child’s future. Even after accounting for family background, parental attitudes and socio-economic circumstances, those who experienced repeated smacking were significantly less likely to pass five GCSEs, including English and maths.
Academic toll
The UCL analysis, which followed the children into their teenage years, calculated that 48 per cent of those who suffered repeated physical punishment failed to achieve that benchmark, compared with 42.3 per cent of children who had never been smacked — a gap of 5.7 percentage points. The effects were more pronounced for boys than for girls. The study also found that children who experienced physical punishment at ages three, five and seven were more likely to have lower literacy levels, with the behavioural impact of smacking appearing most immediately in infants.
Among the 19,000 children in the dataset, the research controlled for a wide range of confounding factors, yet the link between early physical punishment and poorer GCSE outcomes remained statistically significant. “Given these findings, physical punishment may have a negative impact on society as a whole,” the study concluded.
Behavioural consequences
The damage extended beyond the classroom. Teenagers who had been physically punished in early childhood were markedly more likely to bully siblings and other children, or to engage in cyberbullying. By age 14, those who had experienced any physical punishment between ages three and seven were 33 per cent more likely to engage in risky behaviours — including bullying, hitting, pushing or shoving someone. At age 17, the increased likelihood remained at 26 per cent. The study also linked smacking to antisocial behaviours such as aggression and vandalism.
Prevalence and patterns
The research confirmed that physical punishment remains widespread in the UK. In 2020-21, more than 20 per cent of 10-year-olds were still being smacked by their parents, and the rate was likely to be higher for younger children in their preschool years. Boys experienced more physical punishment than girls. The study’s principal investigator, Dr Anja Heilmann, an associate professor at UCL, said the evidence was clear: “Physical punishment has no benefits and is consistently linked to detrimental outcomes for children’s development and well-being.”
Legal divide
The findings have revived calls from experts, MPs and children’s welfare charities for England and Northern Ireland to change the law. Currently, parents in England can use the defence of “reasonable punishment” if accused of hitting their child, under Section 58 of the Children Act 2004. A similar provision exists in Northern Ireland under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. The defence cannot be used if the punishment amounts to wounding, actual bodily harm or grievous bodily harm, but critics argue it creates a legal grey area that leaves children with less protection than adults.
Scotland outlawed physical punishment in all settings in November 2020, and Wales followed in March 2022. The Republic of Ireland also prohibits striking a child. Worldwide, approximately 70 countries have banned physical punishment of children. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has stated unequivocally that protection from physical punishment in all settings is a basic human right.
Calls for change
Joanna Barrett, the NSPCC’s associate head of policy, said: “This UCL research shows yet again that physical punishment does not improve children’s behaviour and in fact has an adverse impact on their wellbeing and links to poorer outcomes in the future. As is already the case in Scotland and Wales, children in England and Northern Ireland should be afforded the same protection from assault as adults. It’s time to change the law and remove the defence of reasonable punishment once and for all.”
Jess Asato, the MP for Lowestoft, said: “The government must act on the recommendations of this report urgently. Scotland and Wales have already shown there is a way forward that works. Now it is time for England to follow.” The Children’s Commissioners for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have jointly called for a ban, describing the current situation in England and Northern Ireland as “outdated and morally repugnant.”
Public opinion appears to back such a move. A YouGov survey in England found that 71 per cent of adults believe smacking, hitting, slapping or shaking a child is unacceptable, while a separate poll indicated that 59 per cent of parents called for a change in the law. Recent polling showed that four in five parents with a child under 18 in England (81 per cent) think it is unacceptable for adults to use physical punishment on their child, and 82 per cent of young adults aged 18-24 agreed. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has repeatedly urged lawmakers to end the defence of “reasonable punishment”, stating that physical punishment harms children’s physical, mental and emotional health. The NSPCC and Barnardo’s are campaigning for equal protection.
Government position
A spokesperson for the Department for Education said the new Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act in England — which received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026 and introduces measures to safeguard children and improve education — “will provide greater protection for vulnerable children who are at risk of abuse and neglect”. But the spokesperson added that the government has “no plans to legislate at this stage” for a smacking ban. Proposals to outlaw physical punishment were recently dropped in Northern Ireland, and similar plans were abandoned in England last year.
Dr Heilmann said the decisions to drop those plans were “a huge missed opportunity and deeply disappointing. Children have the right to be brought up free from all forms of violence.”
Not everyone agrees. Conservative peer Lord Jackson of Peterborough has argued that a ban would be “disproportionate and heavy-handed”, risking the “criminalisation of good and caring parents”. In response, the Children’s Commissioners have countered that “loving, well-meaning” parents have nothing to fear from a law change, pointing to the experience of Scotland and Wales where prosecutions of parents for minor smacking are rare.
The study’s central recommendation is clear: England and Northern Ireland should remove the legal defence of “reasonable punishment”. The UCL researchers, backed by medical bodies, children’s charities and the UN, argue that the evidence of harm — from poorer GCSE results to increased bullying — leaves no justification for maintaining a law that treats children differently from adults.
