Eight
out of ten parents think that the best disciplinary technique for badly behaved
toddlers is not to smack but to ignore them, according to a new
report.
The report, published
by the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships at the University of
Edinburgh, suggests that raising the voice or shouting is the next most
effective action.
The report is
an analysis of data from the Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) study and comes weeks
after MPs voted against enforcing a UK-wide smacking ban.
The GUS study, commissioned by
the Scottish Government, surveyed parents of 8,000 children about issues
affecting their parenting
style.
The survey has shown
that fewer than 20 per cent thought smacking was useful when caring for
three-year-olds and the proportion was lower for younger
children.
Raising the voice or
shouting was seen as a useful technique by about a third of main carers and more
than 40 per cent of their partners.
Men were no more likely to
smack than women and there were no clear links between smacking and age, income,
socio-economic status or level of education, although those with no
qualifications are more likely to see smacking or shouting as useful among the
toddler group.
However, a
residual belief in smacking as a last resort seems to exist among fewer than
half of those surveyed.
“This report highlights
interesting trends, but it is also important to remember that how parenting
impacts on children is a complex matter and we need to look carefully at claims
that there is a ‘one size fits all'' style of parenting,”
Timesonline quoted Professor Lynn Jamieson, from the Centre for Research on
Families and Relationships, as
saying.
“Outcomes for
children may be as influenced by social and economic resources as they are by
parenting styles. Parenting strategies to ensure a child''s wellbeing may need
to be very different on a housing estate affected by high levels of drug abuse
and violence than those in a middle-class leafy suburb,” Jamieson
added.