(ANSA) - "Via da casa", roughly translated as "You're outta here", would appear to be the most popular threat Italian mothers use to try to impose discipline on their children, according to a new report.
The study, carried out by the Observatory on Minors' Rights, said that threatening offspring with the loss of the home environment, for example by sending children away to boarding school, was a ploy used by 31% of Italian mothers. The study was based on a poll of 300 mothers with children between the ages of five and ten.
"While the threat of abandonment may be the most used, it is the most inappropriate from a psycho-emotional point of view. Children must not identify adults with the fear of abandonment," the study warned. Another popular threat was that of depriving children of their videogames and TV time, used by 28% of those questioned. This method was the one preferred by the observatory.
Taking away playtime altogether was a threat used by 13% of Italian mothers, while 12% admitted they sought to scare the child into obedience with threats like "the boogeyman will get you!". The study also looked at what drove mothers to make such threats and found that in 27% of the cases it was the excessive use of videogames and too much time in front of the TV.
Messy rooms and behavior was second at 19%, while 16% of the mothers interviewed said they resorted to threats because of general disregard for the rules of the household.
