Overview

• A 2025 representative survey by Universitätsklinikum Ulm and UNICEF found 36.9% still agree that a smack on the bottom does no harm, down from 53.7% in 2016 and 52.4% in 2020, with 17.1% endorsing a light slap and 5.4% a severe beating.
• The Bundesrat finalized the BGB amendment 25 years ago, explicitly guaranteeing children a non-violent upbringing and prohibiting physical punishment, emotional harm, and degrading measures.
• Experts say the legal norm helped drive a societal rethink, yet actual use of physical punishment likely exceeds explicit approval rates.
• Child psychiatrists report that prolonged stress and violence, including regular shouting and humiliation, can damage the brain, thinning the auditory cortex and weakening links between emotion and action planning.
• Researchers link harsh parenting to parental stressors such as financial strain and cramped housing, and they call for stronger prevention, parental education, and early support for expectant families.