Disciplining children is one of the biggest conundrums parents face; no one likes to be the bad guy. But discipline, done correctly, isn’t about punishing kids, but rather about helping kids understand how to grow and mature. Because of that, how to discipline your kids varies depending on how old they are and how they behave. But overall, the key to child discipline is positive discipline — that is, praise over punishment.
Children, like adults, are hard-wired to respond to positive discipline. Rewards and incentives teach kids to behave better than punishment (in fact, positive reinforcement is the only way to really cause behavioral change in the long term). Consistency is key — don’t react differently to the same behavior in your kids. And remember, your kids learn by observing you, so be consistent in how you behave as well as how you tell them to behave.
The resources you’ll find here will help you understand how to discipline children by effectively using tools like time out and praise. They’ll help you navigate toddler tantrums, and differentiate between developmentally appropriate behavior and naughtiness. By the time you’re finished here, you’ll know all about discipline — and hopefully will have directed your child’s behavior so successfully, you won’t have to mete it out any more.
