French MPs have voted in favor of a bill to ban parents from smacking their children. Once the bill passes through parliament, it will be illegal for parents to use “physical, verbal or psychological violence” and “corporal punishment or humiliation” when disciplining their children.
The ban was inspired by a new study which suggested corporal punishment contributes to aggressive behaviors and mental health problems in children. The study also showed that the prevalence of physical fighting among youths was substantially lower in countries where the ban was in full force than those countries without any corporal punishment ban.
