A global guide to raising children without hitting
That's how many experience physical punishment at home every year. Here's what it does, and what parents everywhere are doing instead.
What to do insteadRead the researchScroll to see how the world is changing ↓
The world is changing
In 1979, Sweden became the first country to ban every form of corporal punishment, including at home. Others followed, slowly at first. Hover or tap the line to see who joined when.
Source: Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, endcorporalpunishment.org, 2026.
Seventy countries is progress, but most of the world's children still live where hitting them is legal. Twenty-five more countries have committed to change.
Source: endcorporalpunishment.org, 2026.
What the science shows
The findings at the heart of Aarohi's research, in plain language.
Children who are spanked show stronger threat responses in the brain, even to calm, neutral faces.
Cuartas et al., 2021 →Harsh punishment is linked to less gray matter in the prefrontal cortex, which handles self-control.
Tomoda et al., 2009 →Children who are hit are more likely to hit their own children, unless something interrupts it.
From the paper →"By physically punishing a child to teach self-control, the practice ironically damages the very neural insulation and communication pathways required to execute that control."From the paper · Aarohi Kshemkalyani
What to do instead
None of these require money, a therapist, or a perfect day. They work in any language.
Ten seconds of distance stops most hitting before it starts.
Find out why it happened. Behavior is a message.
Talk about who was hurt and how to make it right.
A calm consequence, connected to what happened.
Get help, anywhere
Free, confidential support for children and families in more than 130 countries. If anyone is in immediate danger, call your local emergency number.
Aarohi Kshemkalyani · 20 sources
The research behind this site