Margaret McKay, chief executive of Children 1st, welcomed the executive's commitment to training, but said it had missed the opportunity to "end domestic violence against children by ending physical punishment of children".
Children 1st, part of the Children are Unbeatable! group, has called for a total ban on smacking.
The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act, introduced last October, did not end the legal defence of reasonable chastisement, although it did make it illegal to punish children by shaking, hitting on the head or using a belt, cane, slipper or other implement.
A spokesman for the executive said: "It was clear there wasn't support for ending the reasonable chastisement defence. We have taken great steps but have to get the balance right between protecting children and not interfering with the rights of parents to discipline their children."
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