Parents and teachers who punish their children or students using humiliating techniques are actually doing more harm than good, according to Andy Grogan-Kaylor, associate professor of social work at the University of Michigan.
“The research is pretty clear that it’s never appropriate to shame a child or to make a child feel degraded or diminished,” Grogan-Kaylor said in an interview with MyHealthNewsDaily. He asserts that these kinds of punishment can lead to problems such as anxiety, depression and aggression in children in the future.
Embarrassing punishments can also negatively affect the parent-child relationship and lead to a cycle of bad behavior, according to experts. Additionally, the public humiliation an embarrassing punishment causes can increase the likelihood that a child will be bullied by others.
“Positive things have a much more powerful effect on shaping behavior than any punishment,” Grogan-Kaylor said.
Also of interest to counselors may be an article written by John Sommers-Flanagan for the May issue of Counseling Today, “Seven tips for working effectively with parents.”
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