Child Discipline Around The World
Depending on where a child is born on the globe, the cultural norms for parenting may be rooted in traditions that go back thousands of years. In other parts of the world, the norms are more dynamic and change with the tide of public opinion. Around the world, 1.6 billion children or 2 in 3 regularly endure violent punishment by caregivers at home.
Around 1.2 billion are subjected to corporal punishment at home. It is my experience as an educator for 19 years that there is a wide variety of discipline practices in different cultures. From South Africa to Singapore to France, the question of when or where adults can physically discipline children continues to fuel debate.
Physical and verbal punishments of children are common in high-, middle-, and low-income communities around the world. The forms and rates of punishment vary among countries and among communities within countries. This study provides the first global prevalence estimates of both violent and non-violent forms of discipline, examining regional disparities, variations by child and family characteristics, and changes over time.
NEW YORK, 11 June 2024 Nearly 400 million children under 5 or 6 in 10 children within that age group globally regularly endure psychological aggression or physical punishment at home, according to new UNICEF estimates. Of them, around 330 million are punished by physical means. Despite moves in recent years to outlaw such violence, only 65 countries from a total of about 199 currently ban all forms of corporal punishment, including in the home.
We stand side by side with children in the world's toughest places. School corporal punishment is a fact of life for millions of children around the world, despite no evidence that it promotes learning and substantial evidence that it instead is linked with physical harm, mental and behavioral health problems, and impaired achievement. Children are affected in their homes, schools, and other settings central to their lives.
Corporal punishment cuts across geographical, cultural and economic boundaries and is recognized globally as the most common type of violence against children.
