Discipline

Discipline means teaching a child by imparting skills or knowledge. It is often equated with control or punishment. Parents are often faced with the challenge of how disciplining their toddlers or preschoolers effectively.  How do you set limits and enable your child to have self-control?

Effective Discipline

Discipline helps your child to fit in society happily. It is the basis for the development of a child’s self-discipline. Effective discipline involves guiding children but not forcing them to do something. The main aim of discipline is to point out unacceptable behavior in a way that the child feels parental love.

Parenting encompasses giving a child the necessary emotional and material care for proper physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development. Disciplining your child is one of your most critical but difficult responsibilities. There are no shortcuts to raising responsible kids, you have to discipline them.

A disciplined child is considerate of other people’s needs, is not hostile, and can tolerate discomfort when it arises. Discipline aims to nurture appropriate behavior and raise emotionally intelligent persons. Discipline starts with respect. A child should respect what the parent is saying and at the same time, the parent should first understand the child’s inappropriate behavior before instilling discipline.

Inconsistent discipline will not help a child, also harsh discipline like shouting or verbal abuse will make it hard for the existence of parent-child respect. One of the major obstacles to effective discipline is inconsistency. Hence, effective discipline should be applied to protect your children from unhealthy behaviors.

 Discipline helps a child develop a healthy conscience and a sense of control and responsibility. Additionally, a child can organize themselves and gain appropriate values. Effective discipline does not shame the child or give a feeling of abandonment.

Forms of discipline

Wondering how you will discipline your toddler? Here are forms of discipline you can try;

Time out

Time out describes when the child is removed from where the negative behavior occurred. This means the child gets no attention and is kept from the fun. This method is effective among young children. It should be reinforced correctly and should not affect the child’s self-esteem. The caregiver should not use the time-out period to teach but ignore the child. During time out, the child should not be engaged in any activity like television watching. After the time-out period is over, move on to other activities and don’t discuss the negative behavior. This period can last up to five minutes. When used properly, it works over time by decreasing the instances of negative behavior.

Reasoning

A child should be able to learn the negative consequences of their actions. This approach helps your child understand boundaries and gain a sense of responsibility. A good example is letting your child know that if they continue to play loud music from their toys, you may take away the toys up to the next day. This gives them an opportunity to change their misconduct.

Every discipline technique calls for consistency. You can take a device from a child for a day, but taking it for a month may not work. If they stop the negative behavior, praise them so that they can understand what is expected of them.

Set rules

Let your child know what you want them to do rather than telling them what not to do. Clear instructions include; picking all your toys and placing them in the box, while unclear instructions don’t make any mess. The child does not understand what they are supposed to do in unclear instructions. Make realistic rules that your child can relate to and adhere to.

Appreciate good behavior

Your child needs to know when they do something good. Point out good behavior and praise them when they follow the rules. Be specific on why you are congratulating them. We often focus on correcting bad behavior and forget to praise the good ones. Children may use this to get your attention. Everyone loves to be appreciated. It makes a child feel loved. Praising can reduce the need for discipline by encouraging good behavior. 

Plan a solo time with your child

Solo time means spending some quality time with your child. This means phones are kept away, television is turned off, and only you two are communicating. You can decide to engage in an activity like dishwashing as you talk. This time helps in focusing on your and learning their perception of things. You get to learn about them and their approach to issues. Here, you can direct them on what is morally right and what is inappropriate.

Spanking

Spanking involves physically hitting the child. This form of discipline has raised many controversies and pediatricians are against it. Disciplinary spanking, when done violently, is associated with negative behavior. The pain caused by a parent to a child out of rage is dangerous and inappropriate. Before deciding to punish your child physically, take some time out to ease yourself. Below are the main reasons why physical punishment is inappropriate for disciplining your child.

Reasons why corporal punishment is bad

Corporal punishment is a technique that causes pain to a child. It includes slapping, hitting (with a cane or stick), or any other way that forces the child to be in an uncomfortable position. Research has proved that corporal punishment causes depression, anxiety, trauma, behavioral disorders, and mental health issues.

While it may reduce misbehavior at the moment, it has a long-term negative effect. Instead of improving behavior, corporal punishment increases misbehavior.  Misbehavior includes intentionally harming others, lying, aggression, and defiant behavior.

Corporal punishment carries the risk of physical abuse, which causes stress that weakens a child’s brain development. Physical punishment harms the child’s behavioral, cognitive, emotional, or social development. It lowers self-esteem and causes a negative relationship with parents. Some studies have linked a relationship between corporal punishment in childhood and marriage violence as an adult.

Pediatricians claim that corporal punishment is outdated since it negatively affects the child’s behavior and emotional health. Hence, parents should seek alternative ways of disciplining their children.

Wrap Up

Disciplining is one of the main roles of a parent to a child. Even the bible calls for parents to discipline their children. Rather than punishing and always telling your child what not to do, focus on positive discipline that helps develop healthy behavior. Effective discipline will teach the child the expectations set on behavior and maintain a good relationship with you as the parent.