What is Discipline? Discipline comes from the word “disciple,” which means “to follow one who teaches.” So the focus is on children learning lessons, such as “I have a choice about my behavior,” “My behavior choices affect me and other, so I need to choose wisely,” and “I am responsible for my own behavior choices and the outcomes they cause. Punishment usually teaches are unhealthy lessons, such as “I’m a bad person,” “I need to behave so I can avoid someone else doing something hurtful to me,” and “It’s okay to do something wrong if I can get away with it, because... (Read More ...)

Real News Headlines: Colorado boy, 3, dies after being left home alone — mom charged with child abuse. Orlando, Florida: Deputies: Child tied to door, left alone in home with sibling. Former police officer charged with child abuse for force-feeding his 15-year-old daughter hot sauce. Tennessee couple charged with murder and child abuse for allegedly forcing their 5-year-old daughter to chug more than two liters of water and grape soda. Dayton, Ohio, 2013: Father Who Beat His Girls For Allegedly Twerking & Sneaking Out The House Indicted On Corporal Punishment Charges. 2014: New Kansas... (Read More ...)

Disciplining children is different from punishing them because it teaches children to learn from their mistakes rather than making them suffer for them. In fact, imposing suffering actually shifts the focus from the lesson that needs to be learned to who is in control. As a result, punishment focuses on the parent being responsible for controlling a child’s behavior, rather than the child controlling his/her own behavior, which is the focus of discipline. In Positive Discipline, Jane Nelsen offers guidelines for using consequences, which she calls the Four R’s of consequences. These... (Read More ...)

IS TIME OUT AN EFFECTIVE CHILD DISCIPLINE TOOL FOR HANDLING MISBEHAVIOR? Alice is four years old.  When her two-year-old brother won’t share a toy she wants, she pulls his hair.  Alice is sent to time out.  She starts having a tantrum and says, “I wanted that toy and he wouldn’t give it to me.”  The parent says, “Well, pulling hair is not how to ask for a toy you want.  Go to the corner for time out and think about how mean you were.” What will happen next?  Will Alice calm down or get more upset?  Will she sit in the corner and think about how it wasn’t nice to pull her brother’s... (Read More ...)