This research documents the cultural norms around physical discipline and physical abuse among immigrant parents and youth, and assesses the impact that perceived divergences in these norms have on the relation between the family and the outer social world. Interviews were conducted with 10 parents and 10 adolescents from North African Arab countries, and 10 parents and 10 adolescents from Latin America living in Canada. Results highlight that divergent discipline practices were perceived by participants as an important source of tension when they were accompanied with a demeaning image, projected by the host society onto the immigrant family.