Tactics That Teach Discipline

• Structure the environment. Young children need to explore to learn. When you childproof your home, your child can have more hands-on experiences, and you won’t need to say no as frequently.
• Control the situation, not the child. Set guidelines and give your child freedom to act within them. This gives your child control, so you avoid unnecessary power struggles.
• Distract the child. Steer your child’s attention away from negative activity to something more acceptable. This can be done in a friendly, nonthreatening manner.
• Ignore misbehavior when appropriate. This can be used to handle minor disturbances that are not destructive or dangerous, such as showing off, sulking, whining, displays of temper, and attempts to interrupt.
• Involve your child through choices and consequences. As children grow, they must learn to make decisions and take responsibility for their own behavior. Giving choices helps them develop independence and cooperation.
• Plan time for loving. Spend quality time with each child doing things you both enjoy. This is important to the child’s emotional development and to your relationship. It can also help prevent behavior problems.
• Let go. Show faith and confidence that your child can handle challenges appropriate to your child’s age and maturity; this will strengthen your child’s belief in their self.
• Increase your consistency. Try to treat the same behavior in the same way, no matter when or where; then your child will know what to expect if your child misbehaves.
• Notice positive behavior. It’s easy to focus on negative behavior. However, the child then begins to learn that it’s a way to get attention. Try to catch your child in the act of being good and praise your child accordingly.