DBMF 605 Parenting and Child Discipline Strategies: Raising Healthy Kids

This course provides students with scientifically based strategies and tools for helping parents raise emotionally, physically, spiritually, and socially healthy children. Time-honored techniques for disciplining children are examined together with an analysis of contemporary research and biblical perspectives on parenting and discipline strategies. Moral, ethical, and legal issues are considered within the context of today’s socio-cultural environment. The influence of intergenerational factors and family systems variables are also evaluated.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Course Guide

View this course’s outcomes, policies, schedule, and more.*

*The information contained in our Course Guides is provided as a sample. Specific course curriculum and requirements for each course are provided by individual instructors each semester. Students should not use Course Guides to find and complete assignments, class prerequisites, or order books.


The timeless principles and research taught in this course will provide pastors, counselors, and parenting champions a balanced perspective of our complex world and offer practical applications necessary for helping parents learn to discipline and raise healthy children.


Textbook readings and lecture presentations

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (4)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to create a thread in response to the provided prompt for each discussion. Each discussion will require the student to answer questions with a minimum of 300 words, including 3 citations from the course reading materials. The student will be required to reply to at least at least 2 classmates’ threads. Each reply must be at least 200 words, including 2 academic citations per reply from the course reading material. (CLOs: A, B, C, D, E, F)

4 Mat Review Assignments (2)

The 4 Mat Book Review system is a way of responding to readings that requires the student to interact with new ideas on several levels by writing a Summary, forming Concrete Responses, a Reflection, and a Personal Application. Each review will be 700-900 words in length. (CLOs: A, B, C)

Movie Review Assignments (2)

The Movie Review assignments provide opportunities to focus on a movie with a strong parenting/discipline theme. The student must interact with the movie’s content in a way that aids understanding of the impact of movies on the counseling process. Each review will include a Summary, Personal Implications, and Professional Implications of the movie. Each movie review will be 2-3 pages in length. (CLOs: A, B, C)

Research Paper Assignment

Research Paper: Topic Assignment

The student will submit a topic with a 300-word rationale including at least 5 cited sources detailing why the topic is relevant to parenting discipline strategies and the reason for his/her interest in the topic. All sources must be recent (within the past 10 years), and half the sources must come from research/journal articles. (CLOs: A, B, C)

Topic choices include the following:

  • Parenting Children with ADHD
  • Parenting Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Parenting Strong-willed Children
  • The Use and Efficacy of Corporal Punishment as a Discipline Strategy
  • Discipline and Child Temperament
  • Discipline in Step/Blended Families and Divorced Homes
  • Other topics may be chosen with the instructor’s permission

Research Paper: Outline Assignment

The student will submit an outline for the paper and include at least 5 sources. All sources must be recent (within the past 10 years), and half the sources must come from research/journal articles. (CLOs: A, B, C)

Research Paper: Final Assignment

The paper must be 10 pages (not including Title Page and References) and follow current APA guidelines, citing at least 5 references from current sources (within the past 10 years).  Half of the sources must come from research/journal articles. (CLOs: A, B, C, D, E, F)


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