--- title: "Have You Ever “Grounded” Your Kids? | Dr. Harley Rotbart Blog" description: "There is a surprisingly contentious discussion that has been running in the NYT Motherlode column the past few days. If you aren’t sure where you stand on this issue, or are sure and curious to read where others stand (I guarantee…" lang: en json-ld: | { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BlogPosting", "headline": "Have You Ever “Grounded” Your Kids?", "description": "There is a surprisingly contentious discussion that has been running in the NYT Motherlode column the past few days. If you aren’t sure where you stand on this issue, or are sure and curious to read where others stand (I guarantee…", "articleBody": "

There is a surprisingly contentious discussion that has been running in the NYT Motherlode column the past few days. If you aren’t sure where you stand on this issue, or are sure and curious to read where others stand (I guarantee you’ll be surprised whatever your personal opinion), take a look at this:

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http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/grounded-thank-mom-and-dad/#more-39705

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Spoiler Alert – Here’s my comment that appears in the middle of the 120+ respondents:

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“Our credibility is the only leverage we as parents have in providing firm guidance for our kids. If we make a threat and don’t follow through, kids lose respect for us (even though they’ll say “I love you, I love you, I love you” if we do relent). Boundaries (structure, rules, limits) are one of the 8 essential needs of children:

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http://www.childrenscolorado.org/wellness/resources/what-kids-really-need.aspx

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We can’t provide for that basic need unless we back it up with occasional punishment when necessary. Your daughter, and her siblings, are better for what you had to do today even though you feel crummy about it and they won’t thank you – yet. But, sometimes real grounding is necessary for proper grounding.”

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Let me know how you feel about “grounding” in the comments box below. If there is no comments box, click on the title of this post and the box will magically appear.

", "datePublished": "2012-08-10", "dateModified": "2012-08-10", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dr. Harley Rotbart", "url": "https://harleyrotbart.com", "jobTitle": "Pediatrician, Author, Parenting Expert" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dr. Harley Rotbart", "url": "https://harleyrotbart.com" }, "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://harleyrotbart.com/blog/have-you-ever-grounded-your-kids" }, "wordCount": 210, "timeRequired": "PT1M", "articleSection": "parenting" } --- [Harley Rotbart, M.D. Author • Pediatrician • Grandfather ](/) [Books](/books) [Blog](/blog)[About](/about) [Contact](/#contact) [Back to Blog](/blog)parenting # Have You Ever “Grounded” Your Kids? August 10, 2012 1 min read There is a surprisingly contentious discussion that has been running in the NYT Motherlode column the past few days. If you aren’t sure where you stand on this issue, or are sure and curious to read where others stand (I guarantee you’ll be surprised whatever your personal opinion), take a look at this: http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/grounded-thank-mom-and-dad/#more-39705 Spoiler Alert – Here’s my comment that appears in the middle of the 120+ respondents: “Our credibility is the only leverage we as parents have in providing firm guidance for our kids. If we make a threat and don’t follow through, kids lose respect for us (even though they’ll say “I love you, I love you, I love you” if we do relent). Boundaries (structure, rules, limits) are one of the 8 essential needs of children: http://www.childrenscolorado.org/wellness/resources/what-kids-really-need.aspx We can’t provide for that basic need unless we back it up with occasional punishment when necessary. Your daughter, and her siblings, are better for what you had to do today even though you feel crummy about it and they won’t thank you – yet. But, sometimes real grounding is necessary for proper grounding.” Let me know how you feel about “grounding” in the comments box below. If there is no comments box, click on the title of this post and the box will magically appear. Share this post: [](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fharleyrotbart.com%2Fblog%2Fhave-you-ever-grounded-your-kids)[](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fharleyrotbart.com%2Fblog%2Fhave-you-ever-grounded-your-kids&text=Have%20You%20Ever%20%E2%80%9CGrounded%E2%80%9D%20Your%20Kids%3F)[](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fharleyrotbart.com%2Fblog%2Fhave-you-ever-grounded-your-kids&title=Have%20You%20Ever%20%E2%80%9CGrounded%E2%80%9D%20Your%20Kids%3F) HR ### Dr. Harley Rotbart, M.D. Nationally-renowned pediatrician, parenting expert, and bestselling author helping families thrive for over 38 years. [Learn More About Dr. Rotbart](/#about) [Previous Post #### The Ducks, the Ducks!! Hitchcock Would Have Loved This ](/blog/the-ducks-the-ducks-hitchcock-would-have-loved-this)[Next Post #### Family Breakfast vs. Family Dinner for No Regrets Parenting ](/blog/family-breakfast-vs-family-dinner-for-no-regrets-parenting) Harley Rotbart, M.D. Nationally-renowned pediatrician, parenting expert, and author. An archive of his books, essays, and writing. [](https://www.facebook.com/harleyrotbartmd/)[](https://www.linkedin.com/in/harley-rotbart-m-d-4817a66/)[](https://www.harleyrotbart.com/youtube-features/) #### Explore - [About](/about) - [Books](/books) - [Blog](/blog) - [Contact](/#contact) #### Books - [The Countdown](/books/the-countdown) - [101 Lessons From The Dugout](/books/101-lessons) - [No Regrets Parenting](/books/no-regrets-parenting) - [No Regrets Living](/books/no-regrets-living) - [Miracles We Have Seen](/books/miracles-we-have-seen) #### Connect - [Blog Archive](https://www.harleyrotbart.com/blog/) - [Reviews & Appearances](https://www.harleyrotbart.com/reviews/) © 2026 Harley Rotbart, M.D. All rights reserved. Parenting Expert • Pediatrician • Author • Educator Made With [](https://heardmarketing.io)by [HEARD](https://heardmarketing.io)