Discipline Is Not Universal: 3 Ways to Deal With Poor Behavior

Discipline is not a one way form of punishment that works for all children. There are so many different types of discipline that parents use to help keep their own children from misbehaving, but not all discipline works for all kids. For this reason, it’s important for parents to remember that all children are individuals who require their own certain type of discipline. Don’t become discouraged if something doesn’t work for your child; just move on.

Talking

Yelling is often something parents resort to when kids are extra awful – as they sometimes are. Additionally, sometimes your kids are just as normal as they were yesterday, but depending on how you feel and how your day is going, they might seem extra bad because you’re in a foul mood. Don’t resort to yelling. It’s a scare tactic; not a form of effective discipline. Instead, try getting down to your child’s level and speaking in a firm but quiet voice. It’s more effective – and scarier.

Removal of Privileges

As parents of almost three, my husband and I have learned that merely reminding our children that their behavior will result in the loss of a certain privilege, such as playing outside or playing the math game on the iPad is enough to change behavior in an instant. In fact, it works so well for our kids that we’ve never had to do more than issue the one standard warning to change their behavior in a second.

Expressing Disappointment

One thing that worked for me when I was a child was hearing my parents tell me how disappointed they were in me. It seemed to me like being mad at me was one thing that they’d get over, but hearing my parents quietly tell me that my behavior disappointed them was really hard on me. I didn’t care if they were angry, but I did care that they were disappointed. It felt like something terrible, something awful. It really worked for my parents.