Interview with the Author - Global Initiative to End All Corporal ...

Q: How in your opinion will this manual help parents,guardians, or future parents?About the AuthorJoan E. Durrant: It will give parents, guardians andother caregivers a few simple principles to follow whenthey are feeling frustrated. Because it is difficult to thinkabout principles in a moment of frustration, they willhave opportunities to practice and prepare for situationsthat they find particularly challenging. If they follow theprinciples, they will feel less anger toward their children,they will build their relationships with their children, andthey will help their children become respectful, confidentand competent people.Future parents can use the manual to learn about childdevelopment so that they are better prepared for typicalparenting challenges. They also can learn the principlesahead of time and work through the exercises. Thisshould help them to think more clearly when they are inactual situations of conflict with their children. Preparingfor difficult situations can make a very big difference toour ability to manage them well.Q: Who else could benefit from using this manual?Joan E. Durrant: This manual could be very useful toprofessionals who work with parents. It can be used withindividual parents or with groups. It could also be usefulto people working in advocacy organizations who don’tnecessarily work directly with parents, but who wouldlike to have a better understanding of what positivediscipline is.Joan E. Durrant, Ph.D. is a Child-Clinical Psychologist andan Associate Professor of Family Social Sciences at theUniversity of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. She conductsresearch on the factors that lead parents to strike theirchildren, as well as on the impact of laws that prohibitphysical punishment. She was the principal researcherand co-author of the Canadian Joint Statement on PhysicalPunishment of Children and Youth; a member of theResearch Advisory Committee of the United NationsSecretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children;and a co-editor of Eliminating Corporal Punishment:The Way Forward to Constructive Discipline (UNESCO).She has written parenting materials for the Canadiangovernment, and has given speeches and workshops inmany countries on the topics of physical punishment andpositive parenting.This publication is jointly commissioned by the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Childrenand Save the Children Sweden.For more information, please contact:Save the Children SwedenRegional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific14th Floor, Maneeya Centre518/5 Ploenchit RoadBangkok 10330 ThailandPhone: +662 684 1046/7Fax: +662 684 1048Email: scs@seap.savethechildren.seWebsite: http://seap.savethechildren.se