LOWELL – On Thursday, October 12 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., The Mahoney Family Fund and the Lowell Public Schools’ Family Leadership Institute are offering Rethinking Discipline: A Workshop for Families at Lowell High School’s Cyrus Irish Auditorium. The workshop is designed for parents, grandparents, teachers or caregivers of young children or teens as well as for those who work with them.

International speaker and child advocate Stacie LeBlanc (theupinstitute.com) will talk with us about the urgent need to rethink discipline. She will present evidence-based research on child and teen development and health and the direct correlation to maltreatment. 

Feeling overwhelmed can affect the way we deal with people, especially kids. When negative emotions run high, our parenting and teaching skills suffer and when we are stressed, our kids are stressed. Their actions can trigger us and our attempts to discipline can be harsh and lead to an even more stressful environment. 

Compelling research in medicine and social sciences shows evidence that “the old fashion way of discipline” is harmful and ineffective. Decades of findings show no positive outcome from hitting, spanking, yelling or threatening children. In fact, we now have conclusive data that a child’s brain experiences impaired development as a result of being hit. Harsh disciplinary actions do not correct a child’s behavior. Yet, more than half of all adults in the U.S. spank their children – often it is a knee-jerk reaction when kids are acting out.  

What can adults do differently? The first thing we can do is understand the consequences of how we discipline (and there are many); secondly, we need to rethink our personal views of discipline; thirdly, we need to use alternatives to hitting, spanking, yelling and threatening.

This promises to be an enlightening and informative evening! Free childcare, light refreshments and translation will be available. To register, visit https://mahoneyfamilyfund.com/events