Healthy Disciplinary Methods for Children

Healthy Disciplinary Methods for Children

The most important methods that parents can use to discipline a child in a beneficial and non-harmful way include the following:

• Time-out

Placing the child in a disciplinary time-out is a good and successful method of discipline, as the child can learn various ways to calm themselves down. To achieve the best results, the child must be accustomed to spending a lot of time with the parents.

• Loss of privileges

The goal of disciplining a child is not to harm them, but to teach them how to choose appropriate behavior in the future. If the child misbehaves, the mother or father should inform them that playing with a specific toy is not allowed for a set period, clearly explaining that this restriction is a result of unacceptable behavior and identifying the behavior specifically.

• Ignoring

This involves ignoring minor negative behaviors by the child. For example, if the child cries or complains excessively about wanting to go out or play with a particular toy, the parents should ignore the crying and complaining. Once the child stops crying and asks calmly and politely, then the parents can respond and fulfill the request if possible.

Methods to Reduce the Need for Disciplining Children

To manage a child’s behavior and thus reduce or eliminate the need to discipline them, parents should do the following:

• Teach the child proper behaviors and how to distinguish between right and wrong using calm and clear language while modeling the correct behavior themselves.
• Set behavioral boundaries and explain the reason behind prohibiting certain behaviors and allowing others in a clear manner so the child understands the purpose of these rules.
• Explain the consequences of not following the boundaries and the resulting discipline.
• Listen attentively to the child. If they break a rule, parents should hear them out, as this may explain the pattern or reason behind the behavior — for instance, jealousy of siblings.
• Teach the child meditation. Research shows that teaching children meditation makes them more disciplined and committed compared to using any disciplinary method. It is worth noting that teaching children meditation is easy and simple. We remind you here of the importance of downloading the Tawazon app to learn comprehensive information about different types of meditation, as well as a collection of podcasts and guided meditations.