How to Effectively Discipline a Child

We live in a time where parenting techniques are very important, and the way we raise our children is equally important. There will always be a debate on which parenting style and technique is best, but we can all agree that the key here has to be an emphasis on positive parenting strategies. Within the differences of parenting strategies, there are methods that can be utilized to positively and effectively discipline a child, which will nurture self-esteem and strengthen the bond between parent and child.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Patience
• Consistency
• The ability to listen
• Communication Skills
• Unconditional love

1. Keep in mind that children 24 months and younger are not developed enough to understand the concept of appropriate and inappropriate behavior. This is why discipline has to be age appropriate.

2. Try to ignore behavior that is annoying. In other words, bad habits, whining or tantrum taking are behaviors that can be broken by ignoring them. Giving those types of behavior reinforced attention only makes the child do that behavior more. It is also good for a parent to pick and choose their battles wisely. Disciplining every single annoying behavior on top of disciplining other behaviors that really do warrant consequences will have the parent doing battle with the child all day long.

3. Praise good behavior often. Parents that take the time to praise good behavior will be encouraging the child to continue the good behavior. Also, parents can reinforce good behavior with reward incentives. But verbal praise and show of affection is the best way to praise good behavior, and it is free. Remember, a child that only has their negative natures pointed out to them will develop a poor self-esteem. This is why there has to be more emphasis on pointing out and acknowledging the good behavior, because it will encourage more good behavior and a better developed self-esteem.

4. Learn to watch the child's body language and facial expressions. Children are good at giving off signals that reflect how they are feeling. This can give the parent an opportunity to intervene before the child's mood escalates into an acted out negative behavior.

5. Use body language and facial expressions to send the child a message. Just like parents can use a child's body language to identify their moods, a child can perceive from a parent's body language and facial expression that they are not pleased with behavior the child is displaying. This will give the child a non-verbal warning and chance to correct themselves.

6. Create a system of logical consequences to fit the negative behaviors. For example, the child is throwing a toy around after you asked them not to. Take the toy away for a determined period of time. Maybe the child wrote on the table with a crayon on purpose, then, have the child help you clean up the mess and take the crayons away for a period of time.

7. Distract the child from the inappropriate behavior. This is also known as redirecting the behavior. When a parent sees that a child acts inappropriately during a certain activity, they can redirect them into a new activity.

8. Implement rules and boundaries from the get go. A child that grows up from birth with clear rules and boundaries will engage in less inappropriate behavior. This also reflects a positive, consistent and structured environment for the child to grow up in. Children learn better through structured and consistent routines.

9. Set the example. All too often, parents find them disciplining inappropriate behavior that was taught to the child by the example set by the parents. Parents that fight or yell or scream at each other, teaches the young child that this is an effective and acceptable way to communicate. Children learn from their very first teachers in life-their parents. It makes it hard to discipline their behavior when parents engage in the same exact behavior.

10. Keep the day filled with activities. Again, this goes back to structured living environment. A child that has planned activities to engage in, through out the day, will have less time to find ways to behave inappropriately. It is well known that children that act-up do so because they want attention. It is important to plan fun games, daytime outings, arts and crafts, learning games and independent playtime. How often do parents see inappropriate behavior while they are trying to clean the house? So give the child simple cleaning tasks so they are cleaning right along side you.

11. Do not abuse time-out. The time-out technique should only be implemented after a child turns 3 years old, and should be reserved for harmful behaviors like hitting, biting and destructive tendencies. When using time-out, the parent must get down to eye level with the child and explain firmly why the child must sit in the designated time-out spot, and keep them in time-out for 1 minute per year of age.

[xtraordinary]

on 4/26/2009 Very thorough and well-written article. Nicely done! 5 stars~