Preventing physical punishment of children

Description

Preventing physical punishment of children involves implementing legal prohibitions, promoting positive discipline methods, and educating caregivers about non-violent child-rearing practices. This strategy aims to protect children from harm, reduce the incidence of abuse, and foster healthy development. Key actions include enforcing bans, training parents and teachers in alternative discipline, and raising public awareness about the negative effects of physical punishment, thereby creating safer, more supportive environments for children’s growth and well-being.

Implementation

Austria and Finland banned physical punishment in schools a hundred years ago. Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden have already passed laws forbidding all forms of physical punishment of children, whether in homes, schools, or juvenile correction institutions. At least six more countries are considering similar legislation – Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Poland, and Switzerland. Governments that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child are obliged to protect children from "all forms of physical or mental violence", such as smacking children.