The goal of discipline should always be to educate your child about right from wrong, and to teach them rules about proper behavior.
Try to keep these things in mind when disciplining your child:
- Be realistic. Don’t ground your child for a year, if you know you will not follow through.
- Apply a “consequence” only when your child is going to learn something from it.
- Consider the “consequence” carefully. Sometimes simply being scolded by a parent is enough to crush a child.
- Make sure your child fully understands “why” he/she is being disciplined. Remember, you are trying to “teach” appropriate behavior.
- Children cannot distinguish between hitting and spanking. You are setting an example of how to behave, to your children. Spanking is a quick, easy way for you to resolve your own frustrations.
