What is the Most Effective Discipline for Children?

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Apr
27

The January 2010 issue of Scientific American Mind resurrected an old argument about the use of corporal or physical punishment and its impact on children. This age old question is whether and in what circumstances is physical punishment warranted by parents or, for that matter, in programs and schools serving children.

While there is little support for using extreme severe physical punishment of children, some still argue that corporal punishment can be appropriate if it is mild or used in moderation.

An extremely comprehensive 2008 report by Dr. Elizabeth Gershoff entitled Report on Physical Punishment in the United States: What Research Tells Us About its Effects on Children indicates that only 29 percent of American parents are opposed to the use of physical punishment, a surprising statistic in light of overwhelming evidence that physical punishment does little to improve children’s behavior in the long run and can actually cause harm.

In fact, a 2002 report led by Dr. Gershoff that was published in the American Psychological Association’s Psychological Bulletin journal, examined over 6 decades of research data on the effects of corporal punishment on children and found that the sole benefit of increased immediate compliance on the child was more than offset by 10 negative outcomes on children including increased child antisocial behavior and physical abuse of the child by the parent.

An equally concerning 2006 study by Ohene, Ireland, McNeely, and Borowsky, reported in the journal Pediatrics compared the attitudes and intentions of children between 10 and 15 years old to use violence to resolve conflicts and their parents’ expectations and use of corporal punishment. These researchers found that children whose parents use physical discipline are more likely to use violence to resolve conflicts. On the positive side, children of parents who disapproved of the use of violence showed more positive, pro-social attitudes and were less prone to violence.

Given that physical punishment is substantially ineffective and even detrimental to children, still leaves open the question of how best to provide effective discipline to children. A great resource at the end of Dr. Gershoff’s 2008 report provides numerous books, articles, websites, and other resources to provide support for parents on how to approach child guidance from a positive perspective. These resources are well worth checking out.