• Emphasize the patient’s strengths. Parental warmth, for instance, does not negate the risks of corporal punishment, but it can be a good foundation.
• Acknowledge the benefits of religion, such as its promotion of well-being and healthy behavior.
• Recognize the value of discipline and emphasize that you’re advocating for “effective” discipline with the fewest risk factors.
• “Play in the parent’s ball field.” If the parent believes she is God’s representative to the child, consider asking questions such as “What is your child learning about God when you hit her? What did you learn about God from being physically disciplined?” Parents often will pause and reflect.
Mr. Vieth told the story of Carol, a deeply religious single mother who was raised in a home with corporal discipline and who believed that God’s word in her Protestant faith told her that she must sometimes hit her 3-year-old son with an object. She confessed to a coworker that she was paddling her son on the buttocks, but did not like doing so and was scared of hurting him.
Carol’s coworker called Child Protective Services. The subsequent multidisciplinary team investigation chose not to file criminal charges, but to file a civil child protection petition. Carol pledged to improve her parenting, but was unwilling to forgo the practice altogether. Over time, it became apparent to the team working with Carol that she was heavily influenced by James Dobson, Ph.D., the founder of an organization called Focus on the Family. Unlike other more extreme advocates of corporal punishment, Dr. Dobson caps the number of spanks at two, with one for lesser infractions, and says spanking must never leave a bruise or injury (“From Sticks to Flowers: Guidelines for Child Protection Professionals Working with Parents Using Scripture to Justify Corporal Punishment,” [St. Paul, Minn.: William Mitchell Law Review, 2014, p. 923]), Mr. Vieth noted.
“For Carol, his views trumped all medical and health research,” Mr. Vieth said. “We had to figure out a way to play in her court.” Working with a social worker, he found passages in Dobson’s writing that conveyed the message that not every child needs corporal punishment.
“Once I started quoting Dobson, it changed the dynamic” and the team was able to work with her on embracing and learning alternative approaches. The petition was dropped, and Carol now is an advocate in her church for discipline methods other than corporal punishment.
Mr. Vieth reported having no relevant financial disclosures.