As part of our child protection training evening a few weeks ago, we briefly touched on the issue of smacking children. There is a new parenting report, published by the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships (CRFR) at the University of Edinburgh, and according to their research, four out of five parents think smacking their children is neither useful nor effective. The report is an analysis of data from the Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) study and comes only weeks after MPs voted against enforcing a UK-wide smacking ban.
What the experts say...
You can read more here but some interesting points about dealing with naughty behaviour of children, according to expert Margaret McAllister, a child psychologist, are:
If you remove treats: "You have to be consistent. It's important not to set up a challenge. If you say, 'Don't do that again, or you can't go to the park', you have to stick to it. You cannot make idle threats. Parents have to be sure they will follow through every time."
Time out or naughty step: "You have to keep repeating it until the child fits in with what you are asking. It can be quite effective, but you need to be careful to use it sparingly, otherwise it loses its value. It's only appropriate if the behaviour is really bad, like a tantrum or biting."
Smacking: "Smacking loses its effect by the time a child is about six or seven. Parents who get into the habit of smacking do it all the time. The child does not differentiate then between what is really naughty and what's not too serious. I think everyone should strive not to smack."
Reward system or sticker chart: "Using a reward system or sticker chart is good. When a child builds up ten stickers, for example, they can get a treat. You can discuss with the child what they would like to do, so they're engaged. The aim is to help the longer-term behaviour. If you do this for three days then they get a treat, and you can extend the interval to a week with bigger treats at the end."
