Positive Discipline

Positive discipline is a way for parents to teach kids to follow the ruleswhile, at the same time, teaching them how to respect others. Positive discipline engages parents and encourages them to find creative ways to discipline kids with love and respect.

Positive discipline employs seven key concepts:

Mutual respect.
Behavior modification.
Effective communication.
Problem solving.
Teaching through discipline.
Finding solutions.
Encouragement.

Mutual Respect for Children

When you do something wrong, you don't want to have someone screaming and yelling at you. Kids don't either. Disciplining with kindness helps kids understand that everyone makes mistakes and that it's not the end of the world. It's also important for parents to model mutual respect with kids and other adults.

Behavior Modification

Some experts believe that behavior can be changed without understanding or caring where the behavior came from. Although this is true, with kids, it's often important to do a bit of investigating into why your child behaves in certain ways. Kids do things for reasons that may seem off the wall to parents. Positive discipline encourages parents to work to understand why their kids do what they do and work to change the beliefs underling the behavior.

Effective Communication

"Just do it" is a phrase that doesn't encourage communication between parent and child. Certainly there are situations when a just-do-it attitude is necessary, but, for the most part, you should clearly communicate the rules and the consequences for breaking them to your child.

Problem Solving amd not Punishment for Kids

It's important to teach your child solid problem-solving skills. Helping your child work through problems and come to acceptable solutions is preferable to punishment.

Teaching Through Discipline for Children

Discipline is an opportunity to teach kids important lessons about behavior. Talk to your child about the rules and why they are important. Punishing kids does not teach them solutions to problems. Discuss how to work through problems and focus on solutions instead of punishment.