Grounding is a discipline technique which many parents use when their children have gone against their wishes. They can forbid them from attending social events – parties, sleepovers, play-dates for a specific period of time (long enough for them to reflect on their behaviour) or they can stop their children doing certain activities – watching television, using the wii or playstation, any ‘punishment’ that the parent thinks their child will learn from.

Some children hate to be grounded – after all their friends can still do what they can’t and they can’t wait for the grounding period to be over. Other children see the grounding as a challenge. They will try and find a way to still see their friends or use the electronic device they were banned from.

So how effective are they? Should we use groundings and if so when?