GuidelineEvidence: Official guidelineAges 0–18
Effective Discipline to Raise Healthy Children (AAP clinical report)
Author or publisher American Academy of Pediatrics; Sege & Siegel, Pediatrics Published 2018 Reviewed by Edustack editors Last checked 13 Nov 2026
1What parents should know
The AAP advises against spanking, hitting, slapping, threatening, insulting or shaming children, and recommends teaching good behaviour through healthy forms of discipline instead.
2Source and checks
https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-3112 American Academy of Pediatrics; Sege & Siegel, Pediatrics. Effective Discipline to Raise Healthy Children (AAP clinical report). 2018. doi:10.1542/peds.2018-3112 Link working · 13 Nov 2026 · checked automatically every month
The research behind it
What each study found comes first, then the kind of study and where it was published. We prefer systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and check for new research every month.Meta-analyses of 75 studies found spanking was linked to a range of poor outcomes for children and was not linked to better behaviour.
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