Two studies published in the New Zealand Medical Journal show the extent to which Pacific Island children, and children of parents younger than 25, are at risk of physical discipline.

The Pacific Islands Families Study found that nearly one-quarter of mothers admitted hitting their four-year-olds with an object, such as a wooden spoon or belt, at least once a month.

Equivalent figures for fathers were not included, but the study did show that just over 13 per cent of them hit their two-year-old children with an object at least once a month.

The study, which tracked the first four years of babies born to Pacific Island parents in South Auckland during 2000, also said that more than three-quarters of parents smacked their children. More than 1200 mothers and 800 fathers took part in the study. (…)

Nearly 37 per cent of young parents inflicted physical punishment on a child under the age of two, with 3.3 per cent of that categorised as severe. This rose to 84.4 per cent for children aged two to four (11.2 per cent severe), dropping slightly to 77.8 per cent (15.3 per cent) for those aged five. (…)

On average, 1.2 New Zealand children per 100,000 die at the hands of adults each year, the third-worst rate in the developed world - one of the factors that prompted the Government to pass the Crimes Amendment Act to outlaw smacking of children.

Source: The Dominion Post, New Zealand
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/4323064a6000.html