Positive Discipline without Hurting your Child - PDF

							Positive Discipline without Hurting
your Child

Children always seem to find a way
to 'push our buttons' at times and
really try our patience. It's easy
 to feel irritated, sad, angry, ann
oyed, confused and hurt. It's at t
hese times when our parenting skill
s are really tested, and that it's
imperative we maintain a kind but f
irm stance when it comes to doling
out the discipline. And let's face
 it - none of us ever want to hurt
our child with physical or verbal a
buse. We want to teach our child t
hat such things are wrong, and puni
shing a misdeed or inappropriate ac
tion by yelling or hitting is hypoc
ritical at best.

Our goal when disciplining our chil
dren is to teach them to be respons
ible, cooperative, kind and respect
ful. The best way to teach this is
 to always remain consistent, follo
w through with the same punishment
for the same misdeed, and to discus
s the discipline with your child op
enly and honestly afterwards.
Always keep in mind that the age, m
aturity level, and temperament of y
our child should always be consider
ed when enforcing a set disciplinar
y action. Disciplinary actions sho
uld be discussed and understood in
advance so that children know what
they have coming when they've misbe
haved and can give pause and hopefu
lly choose an appropriate route to
avoid it. And most importantly, re
member that it's not the child you
dislike; it's his or her chosen beh
avior, action or misdeed.

If you need to, give yourself a bri
ef 'time out' before responding wit
h appropriate discipline. Sometime
s we need a short cooling off perio
d before dealing with our children'
s misdeeds in order to avoid a misd
eed of our own. Yelling and hittin
g should never be an option.

Keep an open mind as a parent, and
be willing to learn with and from y
our child. We all make mistakes an
d it's important to realize that no
t every form of discipline works wi
th every child. Children are just a
s unique as adults are, and forms o
f discipline should be tailored to
fit the individual needs of both pa
rent and child. But with a little
forethought, patience, firmness, lo
ve and understanding, the disciplin
e can have a positive outcome for a
ll involved.