Eight out of ten parents think smacking is neither useful nor effective, according to a report released yesterday. Instead, most parents believe the best disciplinary technique for badly behaved toddlers is to ignore them.

Raising the voice or shouting is the next most effective action, according to the briefing, published by the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships at the University of Edinburgh.

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.

Television programmes such as Supernanny have popularised some techniques for controlling children, particularly “time out” and the “naughty step” on a staircase. Many parents used this for nursery-aged children.

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.

Professor Lynn Jamieson, from the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships, said: “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.

“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.”

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