Discipline, Guidance, and Punishment

Parents and caregivers have a responsibility to guide and promote positive socialization strategies for children in their care.  These activities are known as discipline or guidance-two words that are often used interchangeably in parenting education.  Discipline is defined as “ongoing teaching and nurturing that facilitates self-control, self-direction, competence, and care for others”. ^[1] It is recommended that caregivers utilize a comprehensive disciplinary approach for guiding children’s behaviors.

Caregivers should proactively teach children how to regulate their own behaviors by using age- and developmentally—appropriate strategies that enhance:

• positive, supportive, and nurturing caregiver-child relationships,
• safety, permanency, and consistency,
• acceptable behavioral patterns by removing reinforcements to eliminate undesired behaviors and providing positive reinforcements to strengthen desired behaviors, and
• cognitive, socioemotional, and executive functioning skills.

For optimal outcomes, all of the above components must consistently function well in an individualized manner for each child, and within the context of youth, feeling loved, safe, and secure.  Recommended child-rearing strategies are outlined in upcoming pages.

Corporal Punishment

Worldwide initiatives have recommended banning the use of corporal punishment with or in children of all ages.  According to the Global Initiative to End all Corporal Punishment of Children, corporal punishment is defined as “any punishment in which physical force issued and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light”. ^[2]  Examples include shaking, kicking, forcing ingestion (e.g., soap, hot sauce), and “smacking,” “slapping,” or “spanking” with any object or a hand.  Nonphysical forms of punishment (e.g., verbal and emotional abuse) include activities that are intended to cause shame to a person such as humiliation, threats, ridicules, etc.

Vast amounts of research have consistently demonstrated strong correlations between youth who experienced harsh punishment (e.g., spanking) by their parents and increased risks of:

• changes in brain physiology that show on MRI studies,
• mental health disorders such as depression or anxiety,
• elevated cortisol levels,
• cognitive problems,
• aggressive behaviors,
• unhealthy caregiver-child relationships,
• suicide attempts,
• moderate-to-heavy drinking,
• substance use disorders,
• misconduct, and
• adverse outcomes that extend into adulthood.