Is Punishing A Child Really The Most Effective Discipline Technique?

There’s a huge amount of debate around disciplining children – it’s one of the things that parents admit to arguing about most.

Some parents choose not to discipline their children at all, others still think smacking is acceptable and plenty of parents use creative alternatives to hitting their child when they’ve misbehaved.

It’s a personal choice. But will a new study’s findings sway you?

Researchers may’ve proven that punishing children IS more effective than offering rewards – or using other modern parenting techniques.

A team of psychologists from Washing University’s School of Medicine gave participants either a reward or penalty after making a choice, to see which had a stronger effect on whether they would choose to repeat that choice or not.

They noticed that when the participants were given a reward, they tended to repeat the previous choice. But the participants who had the penalty were less likely to make the same choice.

The researchers thinks this shows that responses to punishments are hardwired to the brain, making negative feedback more effective at changing a child’s behaviour.

But the researchers emphasise that the punishment doesn’t have to be ‘harsh’ – suggesting that parents don’t need to resort to smacking their child to get them to behave. However they don't suggest what exact type of discipline method would work.

“Our study showed that such feedback does not have to be harsh, since is appears that we tend to react in the same manner to any amount of negative feedback,” says Dr. Jan Kubanek, lead author of the study. “From an evolutionary perspective, people tend to avoid punishments or dangerous situations. Rewards, on the other hand, have less of a life-threatening impact.”

The Pope caused a stir a couple of months ago when he revealed his dating views on disciplining child. The head of the Catholic church used a service to reassure parents that smacking their children is OK when they’ve been naughty.

But his comments received a huge amount of backlash, proving that not many parents agree with this form of helping a child learn.

Here in the UK, it isn’t illegal for a parent to hit their own child – so long as the smack amounts to ‘reasonable punishment’, says Law and Child.

Parents aren’t allowed to hit their child so hard that they leave a mark on the child. Scarily, parents are within their right to allow a babysitter, nanny or grandparent to also use reasonable punishment on their child if they see fit.

But does smacking a child even improve their behaviour? Leading parenting expert Fi Star-Stone doesn't think so.

"I’ve worked in the childcare industry for over 22 years and not once have I ever smacked a child, including my own two children," says Fi. "I would never hurt a child, and smacking hurts.

"I feel smacking is a lack of control. Children can easily be disciplined with gentle time-out methods, taking away proveledges such as favourite toys or pocket money, and from an early age introducing not being afraid to say no and setting clear boundaries.

"Using a low, stern voice when a child has done something wrong is a way of them knowing you are cross and disappointed with their behaviour. there is simply no need for smacking.

What discipline methods work for your child? Share your tips in the comments below.

[Mum Diary: Why I Don’t Discipline My Children]

[Child Discipline Tactics: 8 Ideas That Really Work (Smacking Not Included)]