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Reasoning the preferred disciplinary action for misbehavior, says national poll results
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Nine in 10 parents choose to discuss and reason with their misbehaving children, while one in five uses spanking and one in 10 uses paddling for discipline, according to results of a recently published poll.
In the latest C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, the three most common discipline strategies parents report they are very likely to use include:
- Explain or reason with the child – 88%
- Take away a privilege or something the child enjoys – 70%
- Put child in a “timeout” or grounding – 59%
Results of this poll show that 22% of parents report that they are very likely to spank their children, while 10% paddle their children. Parents of preschool children are more likely to spank than parents of older children.
Researchers also found differences in choices of discipline by region. Parents who live in the West (31%) and South (20%) are more likely to spank their children compared with parents in the Midwest (16%) and Northeast (6%).
To understand parents’ discipline strategies, the researchers presented 1,532 parents with a series of scenarios that they might face with their own children. Parents were asked to select from a list of discipline choices. The disciplinary strategy changed as the age range increased.
Davis M. The C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. 2010;9:4.