Raising Resilient Kids: Black Mothers' Discipline Strategies

The blending of blend of love, strength, and cultural awareness.

Disciplining children is an essential part of motherhood, and the methods used vary across cultures and families. Black mothers often face pressures to carefully examine their approaches due to stereotypes that portray them as overly strict or controlling. These racialized assumptions can affect how their discipline methods are perceived by others, particularly in school or public settings. These stereotypes can place additional emotional and mental burdens on Black mothers, who must navigate both raising their children and combating misconceptions about their parenting style.

The reality is that research has found Black mothers' discipline approaches often center discussion and intertwine cultural values and historical experiences. This episode features Dr. Carla Adkison-Johnson, a Professor in the Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology at Western Michigan University. She is the current Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, the official journal of the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD), a division of the American Counseling Association. Her 2021 book, African American Child Discipline: Culturally Responsive Policies critically examines the child disciplinary practices of African American mothers and fathers with school age children in the home. Dr. Adkison-Johnson’s current research is focused on African American young adults' perception of child discipline and the criminalization of African American disciplinary practices. Her criminalization research team consisting of scholars in the field of sociology, social work and law are examining how court officials (attorneys and judges) perceive child discipline and how these perceptions account for the criminalization of African American parents.

To learn more about Adikison-Johnson, click here.

More Works by Adikison-Johnson:

• Child discipline in African American Families:Culturally responsive policies

• African American Child Discipline: Differences Between Mothers and Fathers

• Child Discipline and African American Parents with Adolescent Children: A Psychoeducational Approach to Clinical Mental Health Counseling

• Evidence-based counseling for African-American parents: A contextual humanistic perspective

• Understanding the Black male experience: Recommendations for Clinical, Community, and School Settings

  
  

THIS PODCAST WILL BE AVAILABLE JULY 21, 2025.

Season 2 Episode 15

Running Time:  38 minutes