Acknowledgments Research Mentor: Paul Silverman Funding: Bridges to the Baccalaureate: The University of Montana. Special thanks to Penny Kukuk, Patricia Hurley, Anne Greene, and to Paul for the wonderful experience. Introduction Theorizing the most effective way to discipline children has not been in high demand in recent years. In the past articles and books were written by experts claiming to have the best and most effective discipline techniques. Studies have been conducted to find the techniques that have the best results. I am helping to develop an instrument that the experts can use to assess how well, or poorly a parent handles certain situations. There needs to be objective measures to follow, and so far there are very few that exist. One is Michael Sadners 16 questions which our assessment is based on (Gardner RA, 1982, p )). The Assessment is compiled of questions that ask the parent how they would handle their child in every day situations. I think that since parents are not that concerned with their child’s actions they choose the wrong ways to discipline their child. Abstract An abundance of experts studied ideal ways of discipline in order to find the best. It is safe to say a good portion of parents chose the appropriate and the questionable ways of discipline. There are only a few guidelines that may give you a better approach, such as the questions by Michael Sadners (Gardner RA, 1982, p ), in which ours is based. Each question is a scenario average American families are faced with, and so the parents responded, in their best interest, with how they would handle it. We categorized about 40 assessments; the first category was “Appropriate”, which had 30 responses, then “Problematic” which had 37, and “Ambiguous” with only 2. It showed us that a good portion of the parents chose problematic but was pretty close to the number of appropriate answers as well. Methods Then 3 different assessments were developed according to the three ages of children: Infant to Preschool, Elementary, & Adolescent. There were roughly 35 parents that took the assessment so far. We read through the parental responses and identified some of the ways that they handled their children. Then we created 3 categories. Appropriate, the category which all the acceptable and understandable responses are put into. Problematic, which holds the unacceptable answers. Then there is Ambiguous in which responses can go under either category depending on the situation. We compiled most of the parental responses into the 3 categories. We went in search of expert advice. Which included going to various book stores and libraries and looking up how the experts thought you should and shouldn’t discipline your child. We then read through and took notes on what the professionals said you should an shouldn’t do. We compared what the expert said to do and what the parents were actually doing. From what we read and comparing our notes it seems that a good amount of parents are doing what the professionals said to do. Renee and I worked out a way to do our final project. I am doing the parental portion and she is doing the professional portion. ( See Renee LaPlant’s poster for the Professional Portion Titled, The Development of a Parental Assessment; Expert Advice) Results The 42 questions that parents had to answer gave us a good idea if that parent should or shouldn’t have a child in their care. I thought that most parents would answer with the questionable responses. We went through, made the lists ourselves and in the Appropriate category there were 30 actions. In the Problematic category there were 37. Ambiguous only got two responses. Therefore we see that a good portion of parents choose the easiest route to getting their children to listen, but they are not the ones that will have the best effect in the long run. The assessment that we are helping to develop seem to of worked very well. If we make it harder for people to lie about how they are with their kids then hopefully more will start to follow the appropriate ways of discipline. Maybe then they will better themselves for their children Question Samples: Infant to Preschool: Misbehavior(9) 5. Your child has access to paper and markers and repeatedly draws on the wall instead of paper. First Method: What would you do? Second Method: What would you do if h/she does it again? Third Method: What if it happens again? Misbehavior & Attention(4) 11. Your toddler is spitting at the table when you have company over for dinner First Method: what would you do? Second Method: What would you do if s/he did it again? Third Method: What if it happens again? Discussions With the responses to the 42 questions and our three categories. We think it is going very well and in the right direction. We have begun the development of an instrument which can be used when determining if a child is safe within a certain persons care. I’ve taken the assessment myself and I believe it is compiled in a way that makes it hard for the person taking it to lie. The assessment asks how you would primarily handle the situation when it happens, then if it happened again and again. The same question may be asked 3-4 times throughout the assessment but in different words. I think that the study shows that parents, overall, chose problematic and appropriate techniques equally. Although, the list was a few responses bigger in the problematic category. I think that the adults chose the technique that was more accommodating to them at the time. The problematic categories are the easiest ones to use and get the child to listen, but they are not ideal. The long term effects harm the child emotionally and give them the wrong idea on how to raise their children. The Development of a Parental Discipline Assessment: Parental Responses Literature Cited Stanton E. Samenow, Ph.D., (1989) Crown Publishers, New York, New York, 649’.153-dc21 Janet Poland, Judi Craig, PhD, The Challenging Child: The Demanding Child.(1996) Skylight Press, New York, new York Don Dinkmeyer, Sr., Gary D. Mckay, Don Dinkmeyer, Jr. The Parents Handbook,1997 AGS, (1982) Family evaluation in child custody litigation. Cresskill, N.J. creative therapy American Guidance Service, Inc. Gardner R.A J. BURTON BANKS,M.D., James H. Quillen (2002)AAFP College of Medicine, East Tennessee state University, Johnson City Tennessee,Childhood Discipline: Challenges for Clinicians and Parents [online] available at: Paul Silverman, Child Psychology, University of Montana, Missoula, Mt.(2004) Gardner RA (1982) Family Evaluation in Child Custody litigation. Cresskill, N.J. Creative Therapy Falon A. LaPlant University of Montana, Bridges to the Baccalaureate Appropriate Privilege withdrawal Time out (age appropriate) Soliciting advice Explaining a rule or why they misbehaved Modifying the situation (e.g. separating the children) Anticipating and preventing a problem behavior Asking for a reason for misbehavior Problematic Evoking fear (e.g. threatening with jail) Use of unusual words (e.g. shake grab) Taunting Ignoring misbehavior Demeaning the child Having the child determine the consequence Giving in to child’s demands or misbehavior Using medication Corporal punishment Ambiguous - Answers which can go into either Appropriate or Problematic. Depending on the situation.- Expressing parental frustration Putting self in time out Categories & Response Examples