DivyaChoosing the effective discipline styles for your child can be a very tedious task. The discipline styles that you choose depend upon three factors they are-
- the behavior of a child,
- the child’s temperament,
- your parenting style.
The article lists 10 types of discipline styles, that you can apply to your child:
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Creating diversions
If your child is less than a year, you shouldn’t think about disciplining them. It is the age when the child is very curious about trying new things. As a parent, you don’t need to use a harsh tone.
You can divert his attention by calling his name, offering a toy to play or you can make a funny sound to distract or divert the Child’s attention. Since it is a learning age so using a harsh tone is strictly not allowed.
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Rewarding Your Child’s Good Behaviour
No matter whatever stage your child is at, rewarding them for their good behavior will encourage them to repeat that behavior. You can give a pat on the back or compliment him to show that he has done a great job.
Although parents should take care that they do not mix rewarding with bribing a child. Bribing your child means you are trying to pay him to motivate him to do such work.
Bribing behavior will tend to make the child more manipulative and they will find reasons to get bribed.
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Don’t expect too much or perfection
No one is perfect in the world. Therefore it is very unrealistic to expect your child to do the same. If you expect your child to behave in a specific manner, he might get stressed and might misbehave just to ease that stress.
Children are very possessive at a young age and will not prefer sharing their toys when a friend comes to visit. To make peace with them you can keep away the precious toys so that the child is at ease and comfortable with sharing the rest toys.
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Avoid Physical Punishment
One of the different styles that almost all parents use is physical punishment. All the physical punishment like beating and spanking can harm your kids. These discipline styles will create a sense of fear.
The child tends to be aggressive when they are grown. They might learn the wrong lessons about hurting someone you love. Various research also shows that such discipline styles encourage children towards anger, frustration, and aggression.
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Consequences – Natural and Logical
Natural Consequences are those which naturally teach your child about discipline. If he/she forgets his book in school, he won’t be able to finish his homework.
Logical Consequence is those discipline styles that encourage the child to understand the consequences. If he/she doesn’t clean his bedroom, he will not be allowed to play games for 2-3 days.
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Teach them alternatives
Try to be a role model to the children. When you see your child is angry and yelling you can demonstrate to him how he or she can speak politely. These discipline styles calm your child and teach them to be polite no matter how chaotic the situation is.
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Grounding as common Discipline Styles
This is among the effective discipline styles for school-going kids and teenagers. You can restrict your kid to a certain place that may be his room or somewhere safe as a way to punish him for doing something wrong.
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Reinforcing positive behavior
Positive reinforcement is a powerful discipline style. If you promise your kids small rewards in return for good behavior like ice cream treats or car drives, it will be more effective than a promising-to-buy cycle.
Kids might stop working for the bigger rewards that are offered. If your kid is scoring good marks then compliment him/her by saying that he is a smart child and has done such a great job!
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Taking Away the Privileges
Make sure that your child understands that with privilege comes responsibility. And he needs to own it. These discipline styles are effective when it is only used occasionally. If you see that your child is not completing his homework on time, you might take away the privilege of watching television for the day. Such discipline techniques will instill good moral values in the child.
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Thinking Time For The Child
When you see that your child is angry, you should involve physically remove him from the situation. If your child is angry about something you should ensure that he is shifted to a boring and quiet place. So that he can reflect on his behavior.
Among various discipline styles, you as a parent have to decide what’s right and what must be done. You can choose these discipline styles to try being better parents to them. As Bette Davis quotes “Discipline is a symbol of caring to a child. Discipline is guidance. If there is love, there is no such thing as being too tough with a child.”
Happy Parenting!
