Nearly 400 mln young kids ‘violently disciplined at home’

NEW YORK

Nearly 400 million children under the age of five, roughly 60 percent in that age group globally, experience violent physical or psychological discipline at home, from spanking to insults, the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) has said.

The new UNICEF estimates reflect data from 100 countries collected from 2010 to 2023, and covers both "physical punishment" and "psychological aggression."

For UNICEF, psychological abuse can include screaming at a child, or calling them "stupid" or "lazy," while physical abuse includes shaking, hitting or spanking a child, or any action intended to cause physical pain or discomfort, without injury.

Of those nearly 400 million children, about 330 million of them experience physical punishment, the U.N. agency said.

And even if more and more countries are banning corporal punishment of children, nearly 500 million children under the age of five are not legally protected against such practices.

More than one mother or responsible adult in four believes that physical punishments are necessary to properly educate their children, according to UNICEF.

For the first time, UNICEF published findings on the access children have to being able to play, to mark the first-ever International Day of Play on June 11.

According to data from 85 countries, one out of every two children at age four cannot play with the person who takes care of them at home, and about one in eight children under the age of five does not have any toys at all.

About 40 percent of children aged two to four do not get enough stimulation or meaningful interaction at home.