Physical Discipline

As children become older parents tend to change their parenting styles. For parents that use spanking, slapping or other physical punishments they tend to taper off as the child gets older and has the cognitive ability to understand what is being said to them.

There are two new studies done by Duke University, Oklahoma State University, Indiana University, Auburn University, and the University of Pittsburgh claim that parents who do not taper off on the physical discipline are more likely to have teens with behavioral problems.

The study set out to see how parents change the discipline styles and how, if what, effect this had on the families and individuals. The results are published in the September/October 2009 issue of Child Development. The study in fact found that if parents did not stop using physical discipline as children grew into teens, the teens were more likely to have behavior disorders and other issues.

According to an associate research professor at Duke University this study should show mental health professions to advise parents that they should not use physical discipline. The researcher urges these professionals to help parents who are at risk of using physical discipline by teaching them other coping mechanisms to manage stress and how to handle their children. Researches have found that families living in dangerous neighborhoods, that have lower income and lower education as well as high stress levels are more prone to using physical punishments. Therefore, it is vital to help these families with their whole situation to prevent the ongoing cycle that families can fall into.