Grounding (discipline technique)

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Grounding is a general discipline technique in the United States, Canada, and other countries, which restricts children at home from going out or pursuing their favorite activities, except for any obligations. During this period, any positive reinforcement is taken away and other privileges, such as but not limited to using the Internet, playing video games, watching television, listening to music, or using the telephone are often revoked. A common use of grounding is room restriction, where children are confined to their bedrooms except for obligations.

Contents

Grounding is used as an alternative to physical discipline, e.g., spanking, for behavior management in the home. [1] [2] According to a 2000 review on child outcomes, "Grounding has been replicated as a more effective disciplinary alternative than spanking with teenagers with challenging behavior." [1] Grounding can backfire if the type and duration of restrictions are disproportionately severe for the behavior meant to be corrected, or if the restrictions are too difficult for the parent to enforce due to resistance. [3] [4]

Origin

This term was used initially in aviation: when a pilot is prevented from flying an aircraft due to misconduct, illness, technical issues with the aircraft, or other reasons, the pilot is "grounded" – that is, literally confined to the ground. [5]

A category of YouTube videos created on the platform Vyond (formally known as GoAnimate), which depict children’s cartoon characters such as Caillou or Dora the Explorer behaving badly and being grounded by their parents, [6] [7] [8] has become a popular internet meme. [6]

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References

  1. 1 2 Larzelere, Robert E. (2000), "Child Outcomes of Nonabusive and Customary Physical Punishment by Parents: An Updated Literature Review" (PDF), Clinical Child & Family Psychology Review, 3 (4): 199–221, doi:10.1023/a:1026473020315, PMID   11225737, S2CID   37681413
  2. Wang, Ming-Te; Kenny, Sarah (2014), "Parental Physical Punishment and Adolescent Adjustment: Bidirectionality and the Moderation Effects of Child Ethnicity and Parental Warmth", Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42 (5): 717–30, doi:10.1007/s10802-013-9827-8, PMID   24384596, S2CID   37712572
  3. Eaves, Susan H.; Sheperis, Carl J.; Blanchard, Tracy; et al. (2005), "Teaching Time-Out and Job Card Grounding Procedures to Parents: A Primer for Family Counselors", Family Journal Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 13 (3): 252, doi:10.1177/1066480704273638, S2CID   144651696
  4. O'Grady, Colleen (November 15, 2015), Dial Down the Drama, AMACOM, ISBN   978-0-8144-3656-1
  5. "grounded, adj.", Oxford English Dictionary, no. 8, Oxford University Press
  6. 1 2 Jensen, K. Thor (August 3, 2016). "Internet Gutter: Grounded videos". Geek.com. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016.
  7. Alper, Meryl (2023). Kids Across the Spectrums: Growing Up Autistic in the Digital Age (PDF). MIT Press. p. 81. ISBN   978-0-262-54536-5 . Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  8. Dick, Jeremy (2021-01-06). "Caillou Gets Canceled on PBS After 20 Years and Parents Can't Help But Celebrate". MovieWeb. Retrieved 2024-03-08.