Notably, every person parenting a child will agree that one of the hardest things to do is to discipline the child. While parents hope for their children to become responsible citizens, they also have to find appropriate measures between teaching the kid how to behave and letting him or her play and learn.
If you have children, discipline is essential for imparting them good behaviors and instilling good character in the right behaviors to uphold in the future. But discipline does not equal punishment, it means helping children learn and make the right choices.
Teaching your child how to be disciplined, smart, and healthy correctly emphasizes issues such as respect, understanding, and communication. This way ensures that the disciplining is proper and that it leads to a close parent-child relationship.
1. Focus on the Life Cycle of Your Child and His/Her Temperament
Children are persons with individual character, abilities, and disabilities. They also pass through some developmental phases that affect their behaviors as well as their learning ability. When you consider your child's developmental age and temperament you will be better placed to effectively discipline him/her.
For example, at the toddler stage your child is exploring, they will try their luck because they want to see how far they can go. But, teenage individuals are quite the opposite in the way that they do not want to follow orders.
2. Languages Used when Setting Clear Expectations and Rules
All human beings need someone who dictates what is acceptable or not, which is why children should be raised in homes where they understand the acceptable rules and regulations. To achieve an efficient and effective disciplinary process, you then need to set rules for your family and explain those rules to your child in simple language. For example, In our home, it is mandatory to finish all the food on the plate during supper or Before asking for something, one has to say “please and "thank you"
However, there is one huge caution, when you proactively or preemptively set rules for your children; you ought to be prepared to enforce them all the time, including the penalties that go along with the violation of your rules. It also enables your child to differentiate between appropriate and improper behavior and the ramifications of the latter.
3. Draw up penalties for violation of the rules
A child needs to face some consequences when he or she has violated one of the rules that were set. A consequence should in some way be connected with the misbehavior demonstrated by the child and should only be enforced if the child fully understands what the rule is all about. For example, if a child misbehaves they will have their screen time reduced or certain privileges taken away for some days.
We have to bear in mind that punishment should be meant to reform the behavior of the learners and not a punishment at all. As such they should be innocent and should not contain scenes that depict physical or emotional abuse.
4. Positive Reinforcement
Rewarding is very effective when it comes to disciplining your child. This element of positive discipline focuses on positive reinforcement whereby you encourage your child to exhibit desirable behavior in the future. They are words of encouragement, an additional story before sleep, or just an extra scoop of ice cream.
Always reinforce appropriate behavior through positive language, for example, not using general affirmations like, You are a good child but using an example affirming; I am proud of you for cleaning the room without being told to do so. Compliments are beneficial to your child as they pinpoint what the child did right and why it was okay.
5. Teach Problem-Solving Skills
Dealing with your child's discipline is aiding her or him on how to solve problems on our own. Instead of telling them how they can solve the problem, tell them how you believe they can solve the issue. This could mean talking about possible options, evaluating them, and even guiding them on the best course of action.
6. Listen and Empathize with Your Child
The reasons why children misbehave include the fact that they are looking for attention or desperate to have their voices heard. Instead of getting angry and making your children afraid of being punished, sit down and try to assess him/her.
Share feelings and thoughts: Be aware when asking questions and be receptive this would encourage them to answer sincerely. This can be effective in getting your child to discipline themselves because this will get to the core of the issue.
7. Be a Positive Role Model
Children imitate their parents and your actions can affect your children's growth and development. In turn, you can become a positive role model and teach your child the right acts that have to be performed during specific situations and the correct way to do it.
It can include commitment, work ethic, obedience, respect towards others, and telling the truth. If your child watches you exemplify these values, they are bound to do the same by example as you did.
8. Avoid Physical Punishment
Using physical forms of punishment like spanking can have a detrimental impact on a child's emotional development. Other empirical evidence reveals that such viewing can cause elevated aggressive behavior, reduced self-esteem, and impaired parent-child communication.
In it, do not adopt material forms of discipline that entail punishment but embrace forms of discipline that entail the solution of problems as well as communication. It is for this reason that if you find yourself growing more impatient you should step back and calm yourself before confronting the situation.
Conclusion
Punishing a child is not an easy and emotionally stimulating activity that a parent goes through. But if you employ smart and healthy disciplinary measures you are sure that your child will be a well-balanced, responsible citizen. Some ways of disciplining your child include; getting to know your child, being able to know the age of the child, being able to set good rules, being able to set good consequences, encouraging good behavior, being able to teach your child problem-solving skills, active listening in case the child is upset, practicing mindfulness, and finally; being able to act as a positive role model.
Discipline is not a form of reprimand or hitting your child but it forms part of character-building and instilling the right values such as responsibility and respect for other's feelings. So, keeping with the patient, consistent, and comprehensible approach, together with strict discipline, you will be able to foster your child's development with a beneficial disciplinary situation.
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