PARENTAL DISCIPLINARY PRACTICES SEEN THROUGH CHILDREN'S EYES

Abstract

Although the word discipline, derived from the word disciplining, means teaching or training, it is associated with the application of punishments aimed at correcting inappropriate/improbable behavior (Knox, 2010, Larzelere & Kuhn 1993 cited in Zoysa, 2011). There is undeniably a special interest in parental disciplinary practices (DPP) (Straus & Stewart 1999) within several disciplines. In a country where the physical punishments are considered efficient and normal, presenting the realities regarding the way children are disciplined is more than necessary, it is almost vital. Starting from the premise that adults tend to become their parents (Zoysa, 2011, Fink, 2014), we are interested in finding out to what extent these milestones in education are still respected and how adolescents perceive DPP. 252 students answered online questionnaires and 48 teenagers participating in group discussions confirmed the cognitive theories according to which the focus in parental discipline must fall on moral internalization and autonomy (Baumrind, 1978, Grusec & Kuczyuski 1997). Internalization, along with the maintenance of the child's self-esteem and the parent-child relationship represents the, goals and finalities in fact of the application of effective disciplinary techniques (Grusec, Goodnow, 1994).