Discipline Strategies
Working as a parent educator for Early Childhood Family Education, I often get parents asking discipline questions. They want to know what to do to get their child to behave. Teaching children about behavior is what discipline is all about. You begin when your child is an infant. The way you respond to your baby helps teach him/her the long-term goal of self-control or self-discipline.
Discipline is necessary to stop misbehavior, but there’s no “right way” to discipline a child. There are several strategies that work well. Which you choose, and when you choose them, will depend on your child’s personality, your personality, and the specific set of circumstances.
The following strategies can help you be more effective in disciplining your child:
1. Catch your child being good. Look for teachable moments when your child is behaving well and tell him/her so. Praise can be a very effective discipline tool.
2. Anticipate difficult situations. Prepare your child ahead of time for a visit to the doctor’s office or the store, deciding upon limits, rewards and the discipline you will use if misbehavior occurs.
3. Let your child suffer the natural and logical consequences of the misbehavior. One of the more important lessons of life is that all actions have consequences. After being warned not to pull the cat’s tail, your child does it anyway and the cat scratches the child’s hand.
4. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Define the rules and follow through with them. When you don’t, you send mixed messages that make it difficult for your child to know what is expected.
5. Use consequences that are appropriate for the child, his/her age, and the misbehavior. A child who writes on the wall with a crayon should not have the crayons taken away forever, only for a day or two. It takes time, energy, and patience to carry out consequences. You need to plan simple but effective ones. Once your child has paid a penalty, life should return to normal.
An important point to remember about discipline is that it must take place within the framework of love and affection. I always reminded my daughters that I disciplined them because I loved them. Discipline is a strong and active message of love used to protect and teach children.
Jill Phillips
Parent Educator