Citation

O'Reilly M. J. Fam. Ther. 2008; 30(3): 272-295.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-6427.2008.00431.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper examines the ways in which parents attending family therapy report how they discipline their children. The children are reported to have mental health problems and by the nature of their disorders present challenging behaviours. Within the family therapy setting, parents account for their methods of punishment which includes threatening, punching, hitting and smacking with belts. They report desires to inflict physical damage upon the child, contrast their punishment strategies against the extremeness of the child and co-construct the essential and necessary nature of the discipline. Investigating parental perspectives has wider implications for child discipline and child protection and the growing social impact of discipline techniques for policy-makers.