How to Discipline Children Without Yelling

There are other ways to discipline children besides yelling.

According to a 2003 study, 88 percent of parents interviewed admitting yelling at their children. Although occasional yelling or shouting is common, it makes a poor tool for disciplining your children. Children can begin to become immune and "tune it out" after being yelled at too much, or it can make them feel frustrated and angry. More effective are methods that encourage children to think about the meaning of their actions and develop empathy between parent and child.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Pencil or pen

Instructions

1. Ask your children to think about how their behavior affects you or others. For example, if your children don't pick up their toys, ask them to think about how that makes you feel, and then ask them to think of how to act so that you won't feel that way.

2. Use a time-out for young children. Place them in a quiet place without rewards, give them a simple explanation to help them associate the bad behavior with the time-out, and move on to a new activity after it's finished. The advantage of the time-out is that it keeps the child from getting attention that may reinforce bad behavior.

3. Explain what behavior you expect before you punish. For example, if your child makes a mess, tell her why it's not allowed and explain clearly that the next time she'll have to clean it up herself. If she does it again, remind her of your warning and enforce the punishment.

4. Discipline kids older than 10 by letting them experience the natural consequences of their actions. For example, if your child doesn't do his homework, he has to suffer the bad grade at school.

Tips & Warnings

• Always be consistent and follow through on discipline.

References

• ACT Against Violence: Constant Yelling Can Be Just As Harmful to Children as Physical Abuse
• Paediatr Child Health: Effective Discipline for Children
• KidsHealth: Disciplining Your Child

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish