Tag Archives: punishment

8 Weeks To A Well-behaved Child-Week 6, part two

Part two continues. (4) Frequency– punishment works best when it is infrequent, otherwise the child will become immune to its effects. (5) Follow-through– if you issue a warning or threat you must always carry it out. (6) Context– the atmosphere within the family is very important when administering punishment. Your relationship with your child is also important. If the atmosphere is hostile, the punishment will more than likely be taken differently from the way it was intended. The kids are also more likely to consider the punishment as meanness, rejection, etc., if their relationship with the punishing parent is cool … Continue reading →

8 Weeks To A Well-behaved Child – Week 6

It’s week six of 8 Weeks To A Well-behaved Child . Last week we learned about discouraging misbehavior by withdrawing attention. In a nutshell, we were supposed to ignore misbehavior. This has always been one of the hardest things for me to do. I suppose I am one of those active interveners, a parent who feels that those little troublesome behaviors can’t be ignored or they will get worse. Of course, it’s just the opposite. Last week I tried really hard to ignore some of Tyler’s more irritating behavior. I succeeded about a third of the time. What made it … Continue reading →

Discipline Do’s and Don’ts

As parents we are always looking for more effective techniques that show us how to deal with common problems that we all face. Discipline is one of those areas. In the November issue of Parents, they offer five tips for discipline do’s and don’ts. (1) Don’t Bribe— Most of us are guilty of bribing our kids at one time are another to either get them to do something or not do something. Giving our kids rewards for work well-done is okay but we have to resist the urge to reward them in other instances, for example, giving them candy to … Continue reading →

Discipline vs Punishment

Here’s a quick one question pop quiz. What’s the difference between punishment and discipline? According to Dr. Ed Wemberly, author of A Parent’s Guide to Raising Great Kids, although the two words are often used interchangeably they are not the same. Discipline is the practice of making someone obey rules, while punishment is the consequences of not following established rules. The differences may be subtle but they are still significant and must be considered if we want to be the kind of parent our kids need us to be. What type of parent are you? Are you a discipline-based parent? … Continue reading →

Ways to Avoid Spanking

Although not every parent believes in spanking, for those who do, especially single parents that have added stress in dealing with children, I wanted to provide some alternatives to consider. I know that I only spanked my children on rare occasion. Instead, I found positive ways of discipline that actually were far more effective. Today, I have a 22 and 24 year-old, both wonderful and well adjusted adults. With spanking being such a controversial subject, experts have begun to conduct some in-depth studies to determine the long-term effects on the child. It was discovered that study after study showed children … Continue reading →

The Shunning — Beverly Lewis

The ways of the Amish have always fascinated me, and I picked up this book by Beverly Lewis with eagerness to learn more. It did not disappoint me. Our main character for this novel is Katie, the only girl in a houseful of brothers. She has been raised Amish and knows that living the Amish way is expected of her, but she can’t stop wanting more. She loves color, she loves music, and she has a hard time restricting herself to those colors and that music which has been approved for her way of life. She finds herself singing and … Continue reading →

Discipline for Children

We are all born into this world with a sinful nature. You can see it in the demanding toddler, the mouthy preschooler, the mischievous grade-schooler… This nature needs to be tamed in us by discipline. Discipline and punishment are a bit different. In looking to the American Heritage Dictionary, the first definition of discipline is, “Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement.” When we look at the definition of punish, it says, “To subject to a penalty for an offense, sin, or fault.” So what should our objective … Continue reading →

Effective Discipline for Single Parents

All parents face a variety of challenges when faced with discipline. Single parents, however, face unique challenges when it comes to discipline. Being the sole enforcer of rules and then consequences and discipline can seem daunting and isn’t exactly an easy job. In addition, when you share your kids between two households, disciplinary methods used between the two households often cause confusion of rules and difficulty with discipline. One of the best ways to learn effective discipline strategies is to know the difference between Discipline and Punishment. They are not the same. According to dictionary.com the definition for Punishment is: … Continue reading →