Raising Children to Love, Not Fear

In the article “Raising Children to Love, Not Fear” written by Justin Coulson and published in Institute for Family Studies. The author says that fear is a strong motivator and drives children to obey. But the quality of the relationships suffers, and trust is harmed. Also, children learn that fear and domination help them to get what they want, and this could motivate them to bully others.

The worst is that separates children from their emotions, and they learn to obey just when there is a chance they’ll get caught. So, without monitoring, they won’t obey because they don’t develop internal regulations.

American Psychological Association published the article: “Parents' use of physical punishment increases violent behavior among youth”. In this study, researchers examined the relationship between young adolescents’ involvement in and attitudes toward violence, parental use of physical punishment, and parental expectations of violence use among youth. The results demonstrated that adolescents who were more likely to engage in fighting, bullying, and victimization of others reported that their parents engaged in corporal punishment as a disciplining method.

This study is important because it demonstrates that parents use physical punishment, impact children, and are more likely to use violence to resolve conflicts. And toddlers, because they have not fully developed the cognitive ability to interpret their experiences are more vulnerable, and their early experiences may have long-term psychological impacts.