Child Discipline Tips

Parenting is probably the most complex, multi-skilled and multi-tasking job on the planet! Watch a humorous video about the typical mom talk in a typical parenting day

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The intention of child discipline, is not to punish, but to educate and train children pertinent desirable conduct. Discipline is ultimately in the best interest of the little one, not the parents. Hence parents need to be composed and yet firm when disciplining children. The time,out process can be used very effectively as a method of child discipline. This article describes the basic technique of time,out, however this should be adapted  to correspond with your own preferred parenting style as well as your child’s unique personality.

The logical reasoning behind the time out form of discipline is for the parent to assign a child who is mis-behaving a period of time to sit quietly and isolated, thus avoiding getting frustrated or angry with the child.

As with all matters of child discipline the time out should be planned and discussed ahead of any potential situation where it might be used. Children should learn to recognize that if they have been requested to finish a task or to stop misbehaving, and they do not obey, that the outcome will be a time out. Determine a place in the home where the time out will be held. The location of the time out area should be a area where the child is isolated from interacting from others, but can be observed and is a place of safety. This can be an area of the room, a certain spot on the floor or even a chair that is specifically designated for timeouts.

Never use the time out strategy for unintentional behavior such as spilling a drink or knocking something over. The timeout plan should be used after the child has been warned that a particular behavior needs to be stopped or a task needs to be completed. When the child continues to ignore the warning, having understood what they should do, at that point, the time out is a good consequence. If the behavior still persists, firmly escort the child to the time out location and explain clearly why they are being sent there. Your vocal tone needs to be calm but firm. After they have spent the designated time in the area it is important to discuss with them why they had been sent there and that should the behavior continue or occur again they again will be sent to time out as a consequence. With older children there needs to be an agreement that they will do what it was that you instructed them to do before the timeout. Children also need to understand that if they leave the timeout area before the designated time is up that they will lose privileges.

It is critical to reinforce positive acceptable behavior with praise hugs and smiles at every opportunity. It is a recognized fact that children do what gets rewarded. Every child craves the attention of the parent to some extent, and if they get more attention by unacceptable child behavior than by behaving well they will do what gets the most attention. Positive attention, ideally, should  out balance negative attention by three to one.