Spanking: what the research says, and what works instead

Gershoff, E. T., & Grogan-Kaylor, A. (2016). Spanking and child outcomes: Old controversies and new meta-analyses. Journal of Family Psychology, 30(4), 453–469. doi:10.1037/fam0000191 · free full text

Who was studied: 75 studies with 160,927 children in total, from the US and other countries. Spanking was defined narrowly: hitting a child on the bottom or limbs with an open hand.

Design: Meta-analysis (mostly observational studies)

What they found: Of 17 outcomes analyzed, 13 showed a statistically significant link with spanking, and every one of those pointed to worse outcomes, including more aggression, more antisocial behavior, more mental-health problems, lower cognitive ability, a poorer parent–child relationship, lower self-esteem, and a higher risk of physical abuse. None of the 17 average effects pointed to better outcomes. The links were similar in longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, and the authors report that they did not substantially differ from the links for physical abuse.

Heilmann, A., Mehay, A., Watt, R. G., Kelly, Y., Durrant, J. E., van Turnhout, J., & Gershoff, E. T. (2021). Physical punishment and child outcomes: A narrative review of prospective studies. The Lancet, 398(10297), 355–364. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00582-1 · free full text

Who was studied: 69 prospective studies that followed children over time.

Design: Narrative review of longitudinal studies

What they found: Physical punishment consistently predicted increases in children's behavior problems over time and was not linked with any positive outcomes. It also predicted a higher risk of involvement with child protective services. The pattern held across different groups of children and parents, appeared in quasi-experimental studies, and there was some evidence that more frequent physical punishment went with worse outcomes.

Sege, R. D., Siegel, B. S., Council on Child Abuse and Neglect, & Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health. (2018). Effective discipline to raise healthy children. Pediatrics, 142(6), e20183112. doi:10.1542/peds.2018-3112

Who was studied: The American Academy of Pediatrics.

Design: Policy statement (expert consensus)

What they found: The AAP concludes that aversive discipline, including all forms of corporal punishment and yelling at or shaming children, is minimally effective in the short term and not effective in the long term, and that newer research links corporal punishment to a higher risk of negative behavioral, cognitive, psychosocial, and emotional outcomes. It advises parents and caregivers to avoid physical punishment and verbal abuse, and gives pediatricians guidance on positive discipline at each stage of development.

Consistent across many studies, countries, and designs for a link between spanking and worse outcomes, with no evidence that it improves behavior over time. Elizabeth Gershoff co-authored both the 2016 meta-analysis and the 2021 Lancet review, and the Lancet paper is a narrative review rather than a pooled analysis. It can't be tested with the strongest method, because researchers can't ethically assign parents to spank. So no study design can show cause with certainty: in the 2016 meta-analysis, 72% of the studies were correlational or retrospective. Longitudinal studies that account for children's earlier behavior still find the link, which makes "difficult children just get spanked more" an incomplete explanation.

• They don't show that a child who was spanked a few times will have problems. The findings are averages across many children, and there is some evidence that risks rise with how often a child is hit.
• They don't prove cause in the way a randomized trial would, although longitudinal and quasi-experimental studies point the same way.
• They don't show that spanking parents are bad parents. Parents spank for many reasons, often in a moment of stress.

In the moment, sometimes. A child who is spanked may stop what they were doing, and that short-term result is why many parents believe spanking works. An earlier meta-analysis by Elizabeth Gershoff (Psychological Bulletin, 2002) is often cited for finding that physical punishment was linked with more immediate compliance.

The question that matters is what happens afterward. Here the research is consistent. In the 2016 meta-analysis of 160,927 children, none of the 17 average effects pointed to better outcomes. It was linked with more aggression and antisocial behavior later, the very things parents are usually trying to prevent. The 2021 Lancet review of 69 studies that followed children over time found the same: physical punishment predicted increases in behavior problems, not decreases.

Researchers suggest a few reasons. A spanking can stop a behavior without teaching the child what to do instead. It can teach that hitting is a way to deal with anger. Some researchers also suggest that fear of being hit may teach children to avoid getting caught rather than to follow the rule when no adult is watching.

Pediatricians' advice now reflects this long-term evidence. In its 2018 policy statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics concluded that aversive discipline, including all forms of corporal punishment, is minimally effective in the short term and not effective in the long term.

The most informative evidence comes from longitudinal studies, which measure children's behavior first and then follow them. If difficult children simply got spanked more, that alone could explain the link. The Lancet review found some evidence that children's acting-out behavior leads to more physical punishment, but that didn't explain the pattern away: physical punishment predicted increases in behavior problems over time, including in quasi-experimental studies designed to rule out other explanations, and across different groups of children and parents.

Not everyone reads the evidence the same way. Some researchers, notably Robert Larzelere, have argued that "conditional" spanking, used occasionally to back up a milder step such as time-out, looks less harmful than frequent or severe physical punishment, and an earlier meta-analysis he co-authored found it compared favorably with some alternatives. Larzelere and Kuhn concluded that physical punishment used this way was no worse than other tactics. According to Gershoff and Grogan-Kaylor's 2016 account, customary spanking in that analysis, the way most parents use it, was generally not significantly different from reasoning, taking away privileges, or time-out. Their own 2016 meta-analysis found that effect sizes were the same in longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, and that spanking was linked with a higher risk of physical abuse.

In the United States, spanking by a parent is legal in all states, within limits. State laws allow parents to use reasonable physical discipline; it becomes abuse under the law when it causes injury or goes beyond what the state treats as reasonable, and those lines differ from state to state.

Schools are different. There is no federal ban on corporal punishment in schools, and in 1977, in Ingraham v. Wright, the Supreme Court ruled that the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment doesn't apply to discipline in schools. Counts of the states that still allow it differ by source and method: an NPR analysis published in August 2026 found 15 states that allow schools to use corporal punishment, while 30 states plus Washington, D.C., explicitly ban it in all public schools. Federal data for the 2021–22 school year recorded about 32,000 reported incidents. The AAP called for ending corporal punishment in schools in a 2023 policy statement.

Many countries have gone further. When we checked on October 22, 2026, the End Corporal Punishment initiative listed 70 states (countries and some territories) that ban all corporal punishment of children, including by parents at home. Sweden was the first, in 1979; the most recent listed are Thailand, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland, in 2025.

Research and law answer different questions. The law draws a line for intervention. The research asks whether spanking helps children, and the major reviews have not found that, on average, it does. Gershoff's 2016 analysis also found that spanking was linked with a higher risk of physical abuse, consistent with the concern that milder hitting can escalate.

If spanking isn't effective, what is? The AAP's guidance points to a set of everyday tools rather than a single method.

Prevent where you can. Many parents find that misbehavior at 4 to 7 tends to happen at predictable times: when a child is tired, hungry, rushed, or bored. Routines, warnings before transitions, and fewer battles over small things reduce the number of moments that need discipline at all.

Notice good behavior. Specific attention when a child does what you asked ("You put your shoes by the door right away") is part of the positive discipline the AAP recommends. For ideas on getting cooperation without raising your voice, see our guide on how to make kids listen.

Use calm, predictable consequences. A short time-out, losing the toy that was thrown, or helping clean up a mess tends to work better when it's announced in advance, applied without anger, and over quickly. The point is to teach, not to make the child suffer.

Help with the feeling behind the behavior. Some hits and outbursts at this age may come from frustration a child can't yet handle. Practicing calming strategies for kids when everyone is calm makes them easier to use in the moment.

And give yourself a pause. Parents often spank or yell when they're at the end of their rope. Our guide on how to stop yelling at your kids walks through the pause before you react and the repair afterward, rather than getting every moment right.

Is spanking your child bad?

Research consistently links spanking to more behavior problems over time, not fewer, and the 2016 meta-analysis and the 2021 Lancet review found no improvement in behavior. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises against it. That doesn't mean a child who was spanked occasionally will be harmed; some studies find that the risks rise with how often a child is hit. What matters most is the overall pattern of discipline and warmth at home.

Is it ever okay to spank a child?

The AAP's advice is no: the AAP recommends avoiding all physical punishment. In the US, it remains legal for parents, but the research has not found an age or situation in which spanking leads to better long-term behavior than other discipline. If you're tempted to spank, it's usually a sign to step away and calm down first.

What age is too old to spank a child?

The research doesn't identify a safe age for spanking at all; links with worse outcomes appear in young children and in older ones. US law doesn't set a specific age limit for parents either, though physical discipline that causes injury can be treated as abuse. As children grow, other consequences, such as loss of privileges, become easier to use.

What should I do after I spank my child?

Come back once you're both calm and repair: say what you did, that hitting wasn't okay and wasn't their fault, and what you'll do next time. Then return to the original issue with a calm consequence if one is needed. The studies don't show that a single incident harms a warm relationship, and coming back to repair gives your child a model for fixing mistakes.

Week 2 of the parent track, The pause before you raise your voice, practices the two skills this research points to: pausing before you react, and repairing afterward. Your child practices the same pause in the Pause Button (lesson 4).

See the program

Read next

• Calming Strategies for Kids: Calm-Down Tools That Actually Work
• How to Make Kids Listen Without Yelling: A Guide for Ages 4–7
• Emotion coaching: helping with feelings, not just stopping them
• 5-Year-Old Tantrums: Temper Tantrums at 4–6 and What Helps