Fitzhugh J. Dodson (October 28, 1923, Baltimore, Maryland – May 2, 1993, Long Beach, California^[2]) was an American clinical psychologist, lecturer and educator.^[3] He wrote several popular books including the best-selling How to Parent.^[4]

Dodson was born in Baltimore, Maryland, United States in 1923.^[5] His father also bore the name Fitzhugh J. Dodson (born c. 1886 in Virginia^[6]) and his mother was Lillian M. Dodson, née Northam (born c. 1890 in Maryland^[7]). He attended high school in Baltimore,^[8] living at 704 Wyndhurst Avenue with his parents, younger sister and maternal grandparents.^[7] He went on to graduate cum laude with a bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University^[2] in 1944,^[5] then gained his Bachelor of Divinity degree magna cum laude from Yale University in 1948^[2] and his PhD was conferred by the University of Southern California^[9][10] in 1957.^[2] He went on to become a member of over ten scholarly associations.^[3]

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.^[11] He had summer pastorates in Tennessee, West Virginia and southern Oregon.^[11]

He was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1948,^[1] and on November 6, 1949, he was installed as pastor of the Palatine Hill Presbyterian Church in Portland, Oregon^[12] and he also taught religion at the nearby Lewis and Clark College.,^[11][13] then from 1957 to 1958 he was director of counseling centers in Portland and Los Angeles.^[1]

He married Grace Goheen, a preschool director, on August 1, 1958,^[1] and in 1959 he joined the staff of El Camino College in Torrance, California, to teach philosophy;^[10] then from 1962 taught in the Psychology Department of California State University, Long Beach.^[14] He also taught at UCLA Extension.^[15]

He was senior psychological consultant to Project Head Start in Long Beach Unified School District.^[15]

He founded the internationally famous La Primera pre-school in Walteria, Torrance, California.^[15] 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.^[16]

He went on to work as a clinical psychologist in private practice in Redondo Beach^[15] for more than 25 years,^[2] treating children, adolescents and adults by both individual and group psychotherapy and also educating parents and undertaking marriage counselling.^[17] He wrote a number of books, including the best-selling How to parent and How to father,^[4] both of which were translated into a number of languages.^[18][19] He married his second wife, Cecelia Kovacs, on January 26, 1974.^[1]

Dodson died of heart failure at the age of 69 on May 2, 1993, at the Alamitos Belmont Rehabilitation Hospital in Long Beach, California.^[4] His survivors included three children from his first marriage, Robin Ellyn, Randall James and Rustin Fitzhugh.^[2]

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.^[2] 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."^[9]

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."^[20]

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.^[8]

His published works include:

Dodson's memberships included:^[1]

• American Psychological Association
• American Group Therapy Association
• American Anthropological Association
• American Sociological Association
• American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Academy of Religion and Mental Health
• Society for the Study of Religion
• Western Psychological Association
• California Psychological Association
• Los Angeles Psychological Association
• Los Angeles Society of Clinical Psychologists
• Phi Beta Kappa