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Australian parents are more open to hitting their children than parents in other high-income countries, according to a new study.
Dr Carolina Gonzalez led the study, which compared the attitudes of Australians with those in Belgium, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Australian parents report the highest level of acceptance of corporal punishment of children, which Gonzalez says is at odds with growing pressure to ban smacking.
“The concern behind this result is that research shows that parents who believe that corporal punishment is an effective and acceptable discipline strategy are significantly more likely to use it,” Gonzalez said.
“As parents, we don’t think it’s okay for our kids to be hit by a peer or a stranger, so why should inflicting pain on your child feel okay when you’re the parent?”
The research, which included more than 6,700 parents of children aged two to 12, found that 62.5 per cent of Australian adults had been subjected to corporal punishment three or more times before they turned 18.
And 53.7% of Australian parents have used corporal punishment at least once.
“Australia is an individualistic country and there can be an emphasis on parents managing their children’s behavior on their terms rather than engaging in a public discussion about it being a public concern,” Gonzalez said.
Of the eight countries examined in the study, only Germany and Spain have completely banned corporal punishment.
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Others have banned it in some areas, such as education, health and justice.
Gonzalez, a mother of two and clinical psychologist who has been conducting parenting research for the past seven years, said while a ban on corporal punishment would be helpful and could change attitudes, eradicating it in Australia would need to go beyond legislation.
“In our study, parents from Germany and Spain, where corporal punishment is completely banned, did not consistently show less acceptance and use of corporal punishment and other coercive strategies than parents from other countries,” she said.
Gonzalez said parents should be educated about the consequences of corporal punishment instead of being judged.
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She said there is a lot of evidence to support the position that corporal punishment is ineffective.
“Our children deserve to grow up in homes free of violence,” she said.
“Broad public campaigns, initiatives to break historical and cultural patterns and better support systems for parents will help stop corporal punishment of children.
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