Family Matters - Physical Punishment
Different people have very different views about children and physical punishment. Some parents believe that 'smacking' is a necessary method for them to discipline their children, while others feel that there is never any justification for physically punishing children.
What everyone is concerned about is the welfare and safety of children. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that children in Scotland have the best possible start in life. So while there is no desire to interfere unduly in family life, we do have a duty to ensure that the legal protections afforded to our children are appropriate and up-to-date.
With this in mind, in 2003 the law on the physical punishment of children changed. Section 51 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 prohibits the following forms of physical punishment of children:
- Hitting on the head
- Shaking
- Punishing with a belt, cane or other implement
These changes followed consultation and research with the Scottish people. There was strong public support for banning these most dangerous forms of punishment. If you would like further details of the consultation exercise, click here.
If you would like to find out more, we provide an information leaflet for parents. As well as describing the change in the law, the leaflet promotes non-physical methods of discipline and encourages positive parenting more generally. You can access the leaflet online here.