Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there have been tremendous disruptions in family routines, employment, and finances. Families have had to adapt to new routines because of changes in their children’s schools, after-school activities, sports, and play. In a prior snapshot, we noted that more than one third (40%) of respondents indicated that their household financial situation was worse than it had been before the pandemic. Family disruptions and financial stress may have affected parenting practices, including child discipline. In this snapshot, we present findings on how parents use discipline to respond to their children’s behavior.
The survey of 3000 US adults asked how children were disciplined using standard questions based on the Stress and Parenting During a Pandemic Study from the Parenting in Context Research Lab at the University of Michigan. Parents were asked about their frequency of using a variety of strategies to teach their children good behavior. Positive strategies were defined as explaining to children that their actions were wrong, placing them in timeout, sending them to their room, or distracting them with new activities. Harsh strategies were defined as yelling, threatening, or spanking. Parents were asked how often they had used the techniques in the past week. In addition, parents were asked about their own adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), a term that refers to potentially traumatic events in childhood.
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