Advocacy Pathway
Child Abuse & Neglect
Children with Chronic Conditions
Community Pediatrics
COVID-19
Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
General Pediatrics
Health Equity/Social Determinants of Health
Immigrant Health
Injury Prevention
Mental Health
Hiu-fai Fong, MD, MSHP (she/her/hers)
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Boston Children's Hospital / Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Jenny Radesky, MD (she/her/hers)
Assistant Professor
Pediatrics
University of Michigan Medical School
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Safe Discipline: Helping families respond to negative child behavior in culturally-sensitive ways without physical discipline:
Discipline is a critical component of parenting in which caregivers help children manage behavior and avoid harm. Yet caregivers may struggle to identify safe and effective forms of discipline, especially for neurodiverse children. Increased time at home and the erosion of family supports during the COVID-19 pandemic have accentuated these challenges for many caregivers. Pediatric providers can help families by offering anticipatory guidance about safe and effective responses to negative child behavior and avoidance of harmful disciplinary practices such as physical punishment. Such guidance requires cultural humility, a central component of family-centered pediatric care that is especially relevant in the context of child discipline.
In this program, a multidisciplinary group of experts in the fields of child abuse and developmental/behavioral pediatrics as well as pediatric psychology will address this critical topic with attention to strategies for culturally diverse caregivers and families raising children with autism, ADHD, and other developmental differences. First, a child abuse pediatrician will review the available medical evidence about one form of discipline, physical punishment, including its unintended negative consequences and associations with child maltreatment. Second, a group of general academic pediatricians will discuss the clinical scenarios in which clinicians may witness or hear about physical discipline practices in immigrant, Black, Indigenous, or Families of Color, inequities in rates of Child Protective Services referral, and strategies for responding with open-minded inquiry and problem-solving. Finally, a pediatric psychologist will discuss evidence-based child behavior and discipline interventions with an emphasis on brief and effective delivery in primary care settings.
SIG Speaker: Caroline J. Kistin, MD, MSc – Boston University School of Medicine
SIG Speaker: Yuan He, MD, MPH – Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
SIG Speaker: Antonia Chiesa, MD – University of Colorado School of Medicine
SIG Speaker: Andrew R. Riley, PhD – Oregon Health & Science University
SIG Speaker: Destiny Tolliver, MD – Yale School of Medicine