In most African families, punishment is often considered to be the best way to teach discipline, respect and obedience. Yet a British study raises questions about whether hitting children helps them develop or creates difficulties that follow them into adolescence. The findings challenge the assumption that fear produces lasting good behaviour and stronger academic outcomes.
What the UCL study found
A 2026 report by University College London (UCL), Physical Punishment and Child Outcomes in the UK, examined children in the Millennium Cohort Study, which follows people born in the United Kingdom between 2000 and 2002.
Researchers linked physical punishment at ages three, five and seven with later educational and behavioural outcomes. In England, children punished at all three ages were 5.7 percentage points more likely not to achieve five GCSE passes, including English and Mathematics, than children never physically punished. The figures were 48 per cent and 42.3 per cent.
Adolescents who experienced any physical punishment in early childhood were also 33 per cent more likely to report unpleasant behaviour towards others at age 14, including bullying or hitting someone. These are associations, not proof that punishment alone caused the outcomes. Researchers also considered family and socioeconomic factors, but other influences may remain.
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Why the findings matter in Nigeria
UNICEF’s Situation Analysis of Children and Adolescents in Nigeria, published in February 2026, reports that 80 per cent of children aged five to 14 experienced physical punishment in 2021. Of these, 29 per cent experienced severe punishment.
The report says violent discipline affected 90.4 per cent of children under five in 2021, up from 84.9 per cent in 2016/17. These figures do not measure academic performance or prove that pupils who were physically punished achieve lower grades. They show how widely children experience a practice linked internationally with developmental and educational risks.
Back Story: Discipline and child protection
Physical punishment has been normalised in some households and classrooms as a way to secure obedience. But immediate compliance is not the same as learning self-control, understanding consequences or developing confidence.
The World Health Organization’s May 2026 fact sheet shows that an estimated 1.2 billion children aged zero to 18 experience corporal punishment at home annually, which is linked to impaired cognitive and social development, aggression and poorer educational outcomes. Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Education has published a UNICEF-supported handbook to help schools prevent and respond to violence.
What parents and schools can do
The findings do not mean children should grow up without rules or consequences. They support discipline that teaches without physical harm. Parents can set clear expectations, explain unacceptable behaviour, apply consistent age-appropriate consequences and recognise positive behaviour. Schools can train teachers in classroom management, establish safe reporting channels and protect pupils through clear policies.
Nigeria must make effective alternatives accessible through public awareness, parent support and teacher training. The central question is whether discipline prepares children to learn and make responsible decisions, or simply makes them afraid. The research gives families and schools strong reasons to choose the former.
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