What is discipine and why is it
important?
Discipline literally means to teach.
From discipline, your child learns
self-control and with that comes
self-confidence and self-esteem. Positive
discipline means that you show respect,
you listen, you reward good behavior, and
you remind your child that you love him/her
while you teach your child right from wrong.
This is in contrast to negative
discipline like spanking, which teaches
children fear and leads to poor
self-esteem. Many child-rearing issues
fall into the discipline category;
whether it's teaching your child to
share a toy, go to bed when he's supposed
to or eat something other than chicken
nuggets. It's all about having a plan; setting limits and
then following through with it.
Being a parent is not a
popular job. You're not your child's
buddy. And being an effective parent
sometimes means that your child will not
like the decisions or rules you make to
guide her in the right direction or
protect her and that's okay. Your child
will still love you and even thank you
years later for
helping him/her be the best person he/she can
be. If you let your toddler call the
shots, it will haunt you as your child
gets older and the stakes are higher.
This week it's demanding candy at the
grocery store checkout line. Later it's
going to a party with underage drinking
or drug use. Keep that in mind!
There are eight key points to discipline.
1. Be a good role model
Your kids are
watching you and your actions speak
louder than words.
2. Be onsistent
Whatever
rule or limit you set, you must stick to it!
Don't back down to avoid conflict.
3. Be calm and brief
The less you react, yell
or lecture, the better. Make your comments
short and sweet.
4. Be quick
Don't wait to
discipline your child even if you are
out in public. He/she won't remember why he/she is
being disciplined if you wait until later.
5. Pick your battles
Decide which behaviors
are serious enough to discipline and
decide which ones to just ignore.
6. Be realistic
How long is your child really
willing to endure running errands or you
taking a phone call. If you have
reasonable expectations, your child will
act out less.
7. Catch your child being good
Your child craves your attention. Kids
prefer positive attention like hugs and
praises. But they'll also accept negative
attention like you screaming and yelling.
So if you praise your child for cleaning
up his toys, you'll see more of that
behavior and he won't have to resort to
naughty behaviors to get you to notice
them.
8. Remind your child that you
love him/her
The behavior is bad but never
tell a child that he/she is bad.After
you're done with your discipline moment,
say something nice and give him/her a hug. It
shows that you're ready to move on and
not dwell on the issue. Just remember -
your child's behavior won't change
immediately. You are planting the seeds
of discipline right now. Don't expect a
tree to grow overnight
English.
