Practice Positive Discipline

The evidence on discipline continues to point to the healthiest child development when parents: adopt an authoritative parenting style; engage in monitoring; are sensitive, involved, responsive and warm; and avoid harsh punishment, control and indulgence.

Cross-cultural evidence finds relationships between harsh punishment, control and disruptive behavior. Other evidence finds a relationship between harsh punishment and permissive discipline. Parents who use power with their children might promote relationships characterized by their child's resentful opposition, depending on early attachment quality. Two papers find longer-term relationships that link discipline with adolescent behaviors and emerging adult adjustment. Evidence indicates that discipline style not only matters, but the impacts carry into later life.