Almost one-third of parents feel that their discipline methods are ineffective, especially when those methods include yelling, according to a new study published in the journal Clinical Pediatrics.
Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina surveyed over 2,100 parents of children aged two to 11 throughout the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, regarding their discipline methods and effectiveness.
Of the parents surveyed, 45 percent reported using time-outs, 41.5 percent said that they removed privileges, 27 percent sent their child to his or her room, 13 percent admitted that they yelled and nine percent reported spanking their children.
Almost one-third of the parents said that they felt their discipline methods "never" or "sometimes" worked. Those who yelled or said they used the same methods that had been used on them during childhood reported the lowest rates of success.
"We strongly suspect that both yelling and spanking might be underreported, because we know when parents perceive their methods are not working, as a third reported, then emotions can quickly escalate," added Dr. Shari Barkin, lead author of the study.