Children in Scotland now have the same protection in.
Is it against the law to hit your child with a belt. So it isnt technically illegal to hit your kid in any state according to Babble. Physical punishment cannot be used on a child in anger or in retaliation for something a child did. However most likely DCFS will investigate you along with the police.
The only physicality you are allowed to use on a child is an open handed slap that does not leave a mark or connect to the head. No one is allowed to use extreme force to hurt you but it is not against the law for your parents to use physical punishment such as a smack. If you do not live with the other parent of the child the other parent most likely will try to obtain sole custody of the child from you or limit your time sharing with the.
However if your parents are using more than a little bit of force or they hurt you more than they should for someone your age or maturity this can be against the law. I am not getting into the morality of smacking on this thread though. These laws specifically include individuals like teachers and strangers.
It can also include activities such as forcing a child to kneel sit or stand in uncomfortable positions or on painful objects for a length of time Rowland et al 2017. There is NO legal justification for hitting your child. Prolonged physical force or intense force that uses full adult strength which could include a belt or another object or even a closed fist against a child could be more likely to cross the line between discipline and abuse.
However I doubt that any court will find that hitting a child with a belt slapping a child across the face or cutting the child to be reasonable discipline. Why set yourself up for that. Objects such as belts or rulers must never be used on a child and a child must never be hit or slapped on the face or head.
In addition to having laws about disciplining children some laws cover other people disciplining children. It is against the law for a parent or carer to smack their child except where this amounts to reasonable punishment. It is illegal to hit anyone with a belt.