Definition: Effective Child Discipline

nnEffective Child Discipline is a topic that draws from a wide range of interested fields, such as the professional practice of behavior analysis,Developmental Psychology, Social Work, and various religious perspectives. Methods of child discipline vary widely between cultures and have in recent times changed considerably in many of them. In western society, there has been much debate in recent years over non-violent child discipline versus spanking or use of a belt in particular and corporal punishment for children in general.

nCorporal punishment United Nations human rights standards prohibit all corporal punishment, including spanking. However, corporal punishment of children is legal in schools in at least 60 nations.[citation needed] Corporal punishment in schools is legal in 23 states of the United States, except where prohibited by local school boards. Researchers have linked authoritarian child rearing with children who withdraw, lack spontaneity, and have lesser evidence of conscience.nn Corporal punishment has been found to be consistently related to poor mental health; including depression, unhappiness, anxiety, and feelings of hopelessness in children and youth. Corporal punishment is a risk factor for relationship problems, including impairment of parent-child relationships, increased levels of aggression and anti-social behaviour in children, raised thresholds for defining an act as violent, and perpetration of violence as an adult, including abuse of one's family members.n —Hart, Stuart N. et al, Eliminating Corporal Punishment. UNESCO Publishing.nnJudeo-Christian perspectives In early history, Solomon advised:nn "Discipline your children and they will give you rest" (Book of Proverbs 29:17)nnand more directly:nn "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." (Book of Proverbs 13:24)nnand similarly warned:nn "..A mother is disgraced by a neglected child." (verse 15b). These parts of the Bible continue to influence conservative Christians and Jews today, notably James Dobson. For Christians, any use of the above references must take into account the instruction of Paul in the New Testament:nn "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4)

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