A cross-party group of British MPs will try today to bring in a ban preventing parents from smacking their children, according to media reports.
The MPs, headed by Kevin Barron, chairman of the Commons Health Select Committee, have backed an amendment to the Children and Young Persons Bill calling for children to have the same rights as adults on assault.
More than 100 backbench Labour Party MPs have demanded a free vote on whether there should be a ban, the reports said.
The issue was last debated in 2004 when calls for a complete ban were rejected despite a rebellion by Labour MPs. Instead a compromise measure was agreed which forbids any punishment which causes visible bruising, grazes, cuts or scratches.
The government remains opposed to an outright ban but campaigners, including the Children's Commissioner for England Al Aynsley-Green, said the current situation was ineffective and sent out confusing messages.
"We must act now to end the legal approval of hitting children," Mr Barron was quoted as saying by newspapers.
"The current law allowing so-called 'reasonable punishment' is unjust, unsafe and unclear. Frankly we are baffled by the hesitation so far about giving a vote on what is so clearly a conscience issue."
Last year ministers said the law, which applies to England and Wales, would remain unchanged after a review found that most parents did not want a complete ban on corporal punishment.