This report is based on focus group interviews with 80 New Zealand children between the ages of 5 and 14 that were conducted for the author's master's studies ("Children's Insights into Family Discipline", 2005). The children were asked about: what parents do when children do things they shouldn't; what disciplinary messages parents give; parental consistency; issues of fairness; perceptions of physical punishment; and what would work to make children behave better. From the children's reports, the author concludes that many parents not only use physical punishment with frequency, they use levels of severity that could significantly harm children. Ninety-two percent of the children said they had been, or that they believed children were, smacked. Some were hit around the face or head, or implements were used. Many children said they did not fully understand the family rules and expectations, nor did they understand the disciplinary measures which were often inconsistent and delivered without clear instructions to the child about what they had done wrong and how they could change their behaviour. Children in the study said that they thought discipline was necessary, but wanted clear messages about what was expected of them, and parents who weren't angry, treated them fairly, and listened to their children before they did anything.

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