On 24 March 2025, the Royal Gazette published the Civil and Commercial Code Amendment Act (No. 25), BE 2568, commonly referred to as the “No Smacking Law”. This law prohibits all forms of violent punishment against children, whether at home, in schools, shelters, training centres, or childcare facilities. Parents and caregivers still retain the right to discipline or correct a child’s behaviour, but must do so without violence. The law came into effect on 25 March 2025.
However, legal provisions alone may not be sufficient to change the deeply rooted belief that “spare the rod and spoil the child”. This raises the question of whether the law is enough to fulfil the goals of protecting children’s rights as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This challenge requires ongoing collaboration across all sectors to shift cultural attitudes towards parenting in Thailand.
To help foster understanding and build parenting skills that respect children’s rights, Childline Thailand Foundation, together with World Vision Foundation of Thailand and Bueng Thong Lang Sub-district Administrative Organisation, held a workshop titled Parent Classroom: Positive Parenting on 20–21 October 2025. The training followed World Vision Foundation of Thailand’s “Celebrating Families” curriculum and invited over 120 parents and caregivers from the Bueng Thong Lang area in Lam Luk Ka District, Pathum Thani Province, to discover positive parenting approaches tailored to each family.
“Childline Thailand Foundation initiated the ‘End Corporal Punishment’ campaign to highlight the negative impacts of corporal punishment and promote positive parenting methods that support healthy development. This workshop is part of the SUFASEC Program (Stand Up For Safeguarding and Ending Sexual Exploitation of Children), supported by Down to Zero Alliance, CRC Asia, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands,” said Ms Supitchayat Areewong, Childline Thailand Foundation, explaining the purpose of the workshop.
Changing parenting attitudes is no easy task. As the designer of the workshop content and process, World Vision Foundation of Thailand integrated its “Celebrating Families” curriculum, which encourages parents to recognise their roles in raising children in a safe, loving, and attentive environment. The curriculum is grounded in the values of the family and the human dignity of all family members, and incorporates knowledge on children’s rights, child protection, violence against children, the impact of corporal punishment, talking to children about sex (not to be confused with sexual relationships), preventing child sexual exploitation, and ten methods of positive parenting.
“Our goal for this workshop is to bring about a shift in attitudes and behaviours towards positive parenting, and to raise awareness of parents’ roles in child protection. The process focuses on transformative learning—not just delivering content, but enabling participants to create personalised parenting frameworks. Activities are designed to help parents reflect, exchange ideas, and set goals they wish to pursue to ensure the well-being of their children,” added Ms Amonpajee Auppamai, Child Protection & Advocacy Advisor, World Vision Foundation of Thailand.
One participant, Chuleeporn Paenoi, or Oil, 36, attended the workshop with her 10-year-old daughter, Aomsin. She shared her experience: “Every topic in the training was useful, but the most impactful was learning how to talk to children about sex. I gained practical guidance on how to educate Aomsin about self-care and body boundaries—what parts of the body are appropriate or inappropriate for others to touch. This knowledge empowers her to protect herself. For me, positive parenting means open communication. Aomsin always comes to me with questions or problems, and I guide her on what is appropriate to say and encourage her to think before she speaks.”
The old saying “spare the rod and spoil the child” may no longer be suitable for today’s parenting practices. So, what about you? What does your positive parenting look like?
