Physical punishment of children: lessons from 20 years of research – Over the past two decades, we have seen an international shift in perspectives concerning the physical punishment of children. In 1990, research showing an association between physical punishment and negative developmental outcomes was starting to accumulate, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child had just been adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations; however, only four countries had prohibited physical punishment in all settings. The Joint Statement on Physical Punishment of Children and Youth finds that the evidence is clear and compelling — physical punishment of children and youth plays no useful role in their upbringing and poses only risks to their development.