8 discipline tactics to try with children
1. Empathize with the child.
Often, parents have difficulty getting their kids to do something. Maybe the child doesn’t want to go to school or daycare. Instead of using little lies to scare the child into submission, try to empathize with them. Tell him you understand the way they feel, but sometimes people have to what they have to do. You could take that opportunity to teach him some tips on what to do to feel better. The little white lies you tell might come back to haunt you later.
- Don’t back down when you issue a threat
Make good your threat. If you constantly threaten your kid with consequences, but fail to act accordingly when they misbehave, they will never take you seriously when you threaten them with a consequence. Children have to learn that there is a consequence for their bad actions. When your child misbehaves, warn them and if he doesn’t stop, immediately give a consequence. The next time they act like that, a simple reminder of the consequence when they last misbehaved should get them to stop.
- Present a united front
A mother and father often have different discipline methods for their kids and one may unintentionally undermine the efforts of the other parent. Such a situation is not ideal when trying to instill discipline in children. Despite the differences in discipline styles, the child should always see you united. Discuss the consequences with your partner in private rather than disagreeing on the punishment in front of the child.
- Don’t bribe too often
The problem with bribing is that the child may expect a bribe whenever you want them to do something. Rather than always bribing your kid with treats if they do as you want, try praising and reinforcing their good behavior. There is also considerable power in carefully expressing your disappointment when the child behaves inappropriately. They child will feel bad about his bad actions and change. Doing this also helps them grow a conscience.
- Don’t break your rules
Children often emulate the behavior of the adults around them. If you set rules, make sure you follow them. If they see you break them, they are also likely to do the same and you’ll have lost some authority to reprimand them for it.
- Be patient. Don’t lose it
Though difficult, try not to lose your cool. It is okay to walk away and give yourself a timeout. When you’ve composed yourself, you can then effectively and appropriately discipline the child. If your partner is around, have them handle it and take a break.
- Don’t wait too long to discipline
Disciplining a child is most effective when they remember what wrong they committed and can link the consequence to the wrong action. Your child will likely not remember his bad action an hour later so don’t wait too long.
- Skip the long explanations
Going into long explanations may often be useless. To children, you might be speaking gibberish. Simple short phrases in age-appropriate language are often better.