From bribing your kids to throwing your own tantrum, we've all had low moments when it comes to trying to get our kids to behave. Here are the most common discipline mistakes parents make -- and how you can avoid them.
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Not Following Through
If you tell your child he's not allowed to watch TV if he doesn't clean up his room, but then you cave in and let him do it anyway, you're only going to confuse him. You have to follow through every time, experts say. "When parents don't follow through, they send the child a double message: 'Sometimes we mean what we say and sometimes we don't,'" explains Carl Pickhardt, Ph.D, a psychologist in Austin, Texas and author of The Everything Parent's Guide to Positive Discipline. Many kids, especially those who are strong-willed, will often bet that you don't if that's worked in the past. However, if you keep your word and actually, say, unplug the TV for the day, your child will realize, "Hey, Mom's not kidding around -- I'd better behave." For that reason, it's best not to make any threats you'd never stick with, like "No Christmas this year."
Stop treating them as if they were retarded. When you give your child a "Don't!" command she will know exactly what you don't want to be done, if she is of age. If she is not of age, then it is not worthy explaining because she won't understand.
"Wait until your father comes home!" is surely not the way to go, but; "When your father gets home, we are going to discuss how to handle this." what is the kid supposed to do? Collect all Data, prepare a Powerpoint Presentation and be ready to give a briefing?
Discipline doesn't have to be a contest about who outsmarts who, but the child will always challenge you. It's up to you, assuming you are smarter then your kid, when it's time to stop the smart-Alec behavior, hopping you don't need to take the whole day to figure it out.
Very sadly, there are a few parents out there that shouldn't had been given the blessing of procreation.
The discipline that was given at home is then destroyed in school.
The key is to be a good role model.
When our youngest child was still in diapers and in a crib she could have 45 minute temper tantrums. Brutal. Our tack was a warning if she didn't stop screaming she would go into her crib. If the tantrum continued, she went into the crib and we would leave and close the door and she could scream it out. When she quieted down we would go in and ask if she was ready to come out. She was usually ready.
Once of the things my wife and I agreed on early on in our parenting life was that we wouldn't make a threat we weren't prepared to keep. There were times when following through was incredibly inconvenient but we did it anyway. Now, both of our daughters have learned that we mean what we say. That was probably the biggest thing for us.
Myy wife and I took my eldest daughter into a restuarant (aged 2 or 3 at the time, she's now 14) and we insisted she sit in the provided highchair as we didn't want her getting down from the table and running around disturbing the other folks. She refused to go into the chair and I warned her that if she didn't sit in the chair she and I would go sit in the car until she was prepared to cooperate. It took three two trips to the car while my wife sat in the restaurant (enjoying the peace and quiet I presume, lol) before my toddler got the message. She then sat quietly through the meal and ate her food without any more difficulties. When she was older she used to tell her younger sister that she better listen because mommy and daddy do what they say.
1. to be fed and hydrated. Many tantrums stem from hungry, thirsty, tired children.
2. to be clean especially with their diapers and underclothes to avoid rushes that hurt.
3. to be warm and well rested
4. to be safe and secure; this is accomplished by caring, nurturing, hugging, reassuring, understanding, and and support
5. to be listened to and attended to. If the parent is busy s/he can acknowledge the child and say something like "just a moment please, i will finish this and be with you in a minute".
6. to feel valued by praise and acknowledgement of good behavior words and deeds.
7. To be respected and treated with dignity even if s/he is two or three years old and does not understand the concept. S/he will feel it and perceive it.
If a child is misbehaving the chances are s/he is lacking in one of the above. Talking to him or her gently and with respect to discover the need or hurt and taking care of it will most likely diffuse the situation and foster love, respect, and comradeship.
Above all, parent should never make the child's behavior personal. Let him/her know that while you do not approve of the behavior at all you still love him/her. S/he will always be your "baby" but you like him or her better when s/he behaves properly. In other words, separate the doer from the deed and keep your cool.
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