Official Policies on Physical Punishment

The following medical organizations have issued reports on the use of physical (corporal) punishment with children.

American College of Pediatricians: Physical Punishment: A Scientific Review of Its Use in Discipline. December 2007.

American Academy of Pediatrics:

• Guidance for Effective Discipline. April 1998.
• Letters to Editor by Trumbull and Larzelere rebutting the policy
• Letter to the AAP Board concerning new policy
• Updated 2018 AAP policy: Effective Discipline for Raising Healthy Children
• Rebuttal to the 2018 AAP policy: Should Pediatricians Base Their Parenting Advice on Advocacy or Science?
• Press Release rebuttal to 2018 AAP policy: Spanking: A Valid Option for Parents

In creating policy on a parent’s use of disciplinary spanking with their own children, any medical, psychological, or legislative organization must first take an objective look at the data and consider all the facts.