Parenting is a very difficult task at times, even too much for the parent some days. It never seems to fail when you have a day filled with activities or child begins to act in poor manner or do something to set you off, but how do you handle it so that it does not ruin the rest of your day and still punish them?
Discipline children no matter what age they are is tough. Smaller children require less severe punishments, but they need it more often as they are still in the learning phases of life. Older children such as teenagers need it less than the smaller ones, but they need boundaries drawn and you need to be firm with them to prevent any backlash. Smaller children also have that way of making you feel guilty about punishing them which makes many parents go back on their own word and allow the child to get out of their punishments. So how does one go about parenting in an effective way that gets results?
First, always consider what the crime is before you overact. For example, if your four year old was running and broke something before you spank them or place them in a time out you have to ensure that they are ok and safe from any injuries. Explain to the child that accident is the exact reason why running around is not acceptable and tell them that is also why they do not see adults running around in houses or any building for that matter. Children learn from example and if you are loud and fearful when you discipline them, they will becomes that way each time they are confronted with a situation that upsets or frustrates them as they get older. If you spank your child some experts say the child will be more likely to become violent with other children or be a very aggressive adult later in life. Certainly that theory is a matter of opinion, as millions of kids were spanked and they never became those types of people, but you should always avoid those circumstances if you can. It is also a different situation when your child is small and they are in a dangerous area or touching something they should not be and you smack their hand to avoid any injury, that is not the same as spanking. Spanking is more when the parent is annoyed and the child has not been listening for quite some time in one day or when the child has something so severe the parent feels the need to react with spanking.
It is a very unclear path to parent your child effectively and feel as if they are getting the message. You have to go through a bit of trial and error at times and you also need to parent each child you have differently to counteract how their individual personality is. Some kids may need a firmer hand through life than others and you cannot become discouraged, instead you will have to roll with the punches and when your child does not respond to one form of discipline then you try another.
I agree with this, especially the final line.
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