Punishment is defined as imposing external controls by force on children to change their behavior. It includes:

• Inflicting pain, such as by spanking, slapping, or hitting
• Imposing suffering, for example by withholding food
• Enforcing penalties that are not related to the unacceptable behavior, such as a week of grounding for spilling a glass of milk
• Personal or emotional attacks like name-calling, ridicule, and insults

Many forms of punishment are against the law.

It's not hard to understand why parents sometimes want to use punishment. There are many reasons, including:

• The misbehavior often stops immediately
• Children often show remorse during punishment
• The parent gets to blow off steam
• The parent feels in control
• The parent hasn't let the children "get away with it"
• The parent was raised that way

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