Why Restraint Exists and Why Children (and staff) Die

Hosts Bonnie and Thomas Liotta tackle the tragic reality of restraint-related deaths in schools and therapeutic facilities. Following the October 16, 2025, death of Amy Morrell while restraining a 14-year-old girl, this episode explores why restraint exists, how it escalates from everyday parenting practices, and why over 20 children die from restraint every year in the United States alone. The Liottas argue that restraint is the endpoint of a continuum that begins at home, starting in infancy, when parents control their children through punishment rather than empowering them with life skills. Drawing on Thomas's experience working with thousands of children without ever using restraints, they reveal how authoritative parenting habits stem from previous generations' authoritarian punishment-based parenting, which still influences modern parenting, but under gentler labels. This is part one of a three-part series examining how adults create aggressive children and what alternatives exist to transform defiant behavior without force, punishment, medication, or therapy. Click here and start a new empowering parenting journey today.