Fitzhugh Dodson

Dodson was born in Baltimore, Maryland, United States in 1923.[4] His father also bore the name Fitzhugh J. Dodson (born c. 1886 in Virginia[5]) and his mother was Lillian M. Dodson, née Northam (born c. 1890 in Maryland[6]). He attended high school in Baltimore,[7] living at 704 Wyndhurst Avenue with his parents, younger sister and maternal grandparents.[6] He went on to graduate cum laude with a bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University[1] in 1944,[4] then gained his Bachelor of Divinity degree magna cum laude from Yale University in 1948[1] and his PhD was conferred by the University of Southern California[8][9] in 1957.[1] He went on to become a member of over ten scholarly associations.[2]

During his student years he was editor of a newspaper, president of the freshman class, senior member of the student council, business manager of the debating council and a member of Beta Theta Pi, Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Delta Epsilon and Omicron Delta Kappa.[10] He had summer pastorates in Tennessee, West Virginia and southern Oregon.[10]

On November 6, 1949 he was installed as pastor of the Palatine Hill Presbyterian Church in Portland, Oregon[11] and he also taught religion at the nearby Lewis and Clark College.[10][12] In 1959 he joined the staff of El Camino College in Torrance, California, to teach philosophy;[9] then from 1962 taught in the Psychology Department of California State University, Long Beach.[13] He also taught at UCLA Extension.[14]

He was senior psychological consultant to Project Head Start in Long Beach Unified School District.[14]

He founded the internationally famous La Primera pre-school in Walteria, Torrance, California.[14] Building started in May 1963; the school was designed for children aged three to five and also for the training of pre-school teachers; his wife became director of the school and Dodson himself had the role of consultant.[15]

He went on to work as a clinical psychologist in private practice in Redondo Beach[14] for more than 25 years,[1] treating children, adolescents and adults by both individual and group psychotherapy and also educating parents and undertaking marriage counselling.[16] He wrote a number of books, including the best-selling How to parent and How to father,[3] both of which were translated into a number of languages.[17][18]

Dodson died of heart failure at the age of 69 on May 2, 1993 at the Alamitos Belmont Rehabilitation Hospital in Long Beach, California.[3] His survivors included three children, Robin Ellyn, Randall James and Rustin Fitzhugh.[1]

Dodson taught that children need both love and discipline, and this was seen as a contradiction to the permissive approach attributed to Dr. Benjamin Spock.[1] He stated, "Many parents also have the impression that modern psychology teaches that you should not spank children. Some psychologists and psychiatrists have actually stated this idea in print. However, as a psychologist, I believe it is impossible to raise children effectively—particularly aggressive, forceful boys—without spanking them."[8]

He continued, "This does not mean that any kind of spanking is all right for a child. I want to make it clear that there is a "right" kind of spanking and a "wrong" kind. By the wrong kind I mean a cruel and sadistic beating. This fills a child with hatred, and a deep desire for revenge. This is the kind that is administered with a strap or stick or some other type of parental "weapon." Or it could also mean a humiliating slap in the face. The right kind of spanking needs no special paraphernalia. Just the hand of the parent administered a few times on the kid's bottom. The right kind of spanking is a positive thing. It clears the air, and is vastly preferable to moralistic and guilt-inducing parental lectures."[19]

Alongside this teaching, he strongly emphasised the importance of a strong, loving family structure, and favoured three-generation extended families; he taught that society should train people in parenting and grandparenting skills, suggesting that parenting should be taught in high schools, and that evening classes should also be available.[7]

His published works include: