Studies looking into how the pandemic has changed parenting have revealed some pretty big insights when it comes to discipline. The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be about so much more than just a virus that was serious and deadly. Everyone struggled in some way as their lives were turned upside down. Schools were shut down and students had to navigate remote learning. Parents were now trying to work from home and help their children with school at the same time, and everyone got a little bit of “cabin fever” as they could not go about their lives as normal.It would be expected that we would see some aspects of parenting change, and studies are now being done to see just what the changes were. According to Medical Xpress, a study was done to see how daily stress during the pandemic affected the way parents disciplined their children.The study was done by Ohio State University and it can be read in full here. It found that when parents had hit the max of daily stress that they could handle, they were more likely to use aggressive discipline with their children. This was found (usually) near the end of the day.The study immediately highlights the fact that parents need more resources and support as they try and navigate a pandemic that is still raging around the world. The study measured stress levels three times a day for two weeks. It showed that every time the stress level in parents raised, the more likely they were to use discipline strategies, like spanking, on their child(ren). It was not just physical either, parents were also more likely to use psychological aggression, like trying to make their child feel ashamed.[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/OhioStateNews/status/1467881522585907209[/EMBED_TWITTER]Bridget Freisthler was the lead author of the study and she said that overall general levels of stress did not seem to have an impact versus stress at the moment. She also said that it appears that the stress was building up throughout the day, and by the end, parents were “fed up.” This was when they were more likely to use aggressive discipline. She also reiterated that this type of discipline is just not healthy for children, so work needs to be done to help parents so that they are able to cope with the stress of parenting. They are better able to discipline in a healthier way.Sources: Medical Xpress, Springer Link