Children are a basket of vibrant energies and potential. They consume it fully until the power is low. Once done, they set themselves into rest mode and get recharged automatically, powerless.
They are unstoppable. Like apes, they hop, jump, and swing all around the house creating a mess in and out. The younger they are, the more challenging is the scenario, especially for the age group 3-8 years old. Their transformation from a toddler to a grown-up children is challenging. They seek tantrums, learn new things, make demands, become, observant, and are nurtured eventually. This is the phase when discipline and its real meaning are taught to them. Know why kids throw tantrums?
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Why is it important to teach discipline to children from an early age? How do impart discipline to children? What is the right age to make them understand the term discipline? What values does it hold? How can we up bring a disciplined child? Well, there is no set criteria to learn so, it is an observant factor and it imparts in a person as he learns and grows.
Discipline is one of the most important traits to help you succeed in life, and yet many parents fail to instill it in their children because they don’t know-how. This article will show you what discipline truly is, how to recognize and instill it in your child, and more!
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Is it important to be consistent when it comes to discipline?
Most parents struggle with how to discipline their children properly. Many parents rely on punishment, and others use bribery or rewards to encourage good behavior in their kids. Unfortunately, punishment doesn’t tend to work over the long term, and rewards can actually undermine your child’s development of self-discipline. One of the most effective methods for instilling discipline in children involves three simple steps: clarity, consistency, and connection.
Whatever your child’s age, it’s important to be consistent when it comes to discipline. If parents don’t stick to the rules and consequences they set up, their kids aren’t likely to follow the same. First, it should be clear to children what rules or dos and don’ts are set for them. Second, they must understand that no matter what they have to adhere to them at every phase of life, and third, children should be able to connect the importance of rules and limits with disciplinary actions.
Discipline kids without anger
It’s one of the biggest dilemmas that parents face on a daily basis – how to discipline your kids without yelling. While it’s okay to be strict, the key is to find a way to get them to follow your rules in an environment where you’re calm and rational, and everyone can come out of the situation feeling good about themselves (and not like they’ve been forced into anything).
It is important to create an environment where your child feels comfortable and able to deal with challenges without resorting to tantrums and yelling.
How do impart discipline to children?
Understanding the term and its meaning
Discipline doesn’t mean sitting quietly in the atmosphere, it means maintaining the decorum of the place, be it school, college, office, home, or anywhere else.
Discipline can be defined as the ability to do what needs to be done, even when you don’t want to do it. It’s something that can be learned at any age and instilled in others, whether you’re a parent or not. The main key to teaching discipline is encouraging your children to take responsibility for their own actions and recognizing how their actions affect those around them.
Create a comfortable environment
There’s nothing worse than being driven crazy by the screaming and yelling of kids in your house – it’s enough to make anyone lose their temper, and that’s not exactly the best approach to parenting. Sure, it may feel like the only way to bring your kids under control, but if you can learn how to create an environment where they feel safe while also learning how to manage their behavior themselves, you’ll be in much better shape as a parent.
In the book Nurture Shock, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman describe research conducted by behavioral scientist Dr. Ross Greene, an expert in how children respond to discipline with high anxiety or low anxiety (also known as Approach-Avoidance Conflict). It turns out that high-anxiety kids are at an increased risk of developing behavioral problems later in life.
An environment of children’s choice has a better impact on them when it comes to teaching interpersonal skills to them. They seek interests in things around them. They grab quicker than we think. A healthy environment is likely to add positive vibes to things and people around and maintain its versatility.
Set rules
Parents must set rules and limits for their children. This process should begin from an early age. Even though they may not be able to understand or find it difficult, initially, to adjust and cope within limits, however consistently following rules and limits turn up into their daily habits. It will help them to shape their personalities. Parents may begin with small rules like doing homework before playing, 10 mins of exercise, meditation, or yoga, reading a book before bedtime, etc.
While disciplining your children isn’t always easy, there are some specific tricks you can employ that will make it easier and help you set boundaries in the home so everyone can live more happily together.
Begin with you
Discipline can be hard to teach your children, especially when they are going through their tantrum-throwing, swearing-spitting-hair-pulling phase of life. But parents everywhere know that instilling discipline in their children is one of the most important jobs they have in life.
No parent enjoys telling their child no, but it’s an inevitable part of parenthood. Despite your best efforts, your kids will sometimes behave in ways that you don’t approve of, whether it’s leaving their toys lying around the house or asking to stay up late on school nights.
Before expecting them to behave in a disciplined manner parents role must model themselves first. As children learn more from observing than from getting trained, it is important that parents should also follow what they preach.
Moral stories or videos
How do impart discipline to children? One of the best ways to instill discipline in them is to teach them through good moral stories. Moral stories teach us values. Through them, we learn what is right and wrong.
Children are innocent. In their growing phase, they believe what they are influenced by the most. If any good moral story can have an impact on them, they will grab its learning and follow it forever. Through moral stories or video parents can impart discipline in children in easier manner.
Effective communication
Make effective communication while talking to your child. Communication not only means talking, it means talking with eye contact, listening carefully, paying complete attention, observing body language and nuance, and expressing affection. The purpose is to send and understand the message to each other. Here are some ideas while communicating:
- Set aside time for talking and listening to each other. Family meals can be a great time to do this.
- When you and your child are communicating, keep aside all the devices. This shows that you’re completely focused on the interaction or conversation.
- Talk about everyday things as you go through your day. If you and your child are used to communicating a lot, it gives a sense of comfort to express oneself.
- Be open to talking about all kinds of feelings, including anger, joy, frustration, fear, and anxiety.
- Tune in to what your child’s body language is telling you, and try to respond to non-verbal messages too.
- Use age-appropriate language and speak with children, regardless of age. Do not talk down to a child.
Give them space
Allow space-time to children. This help develops their thinking and cognitive skills. Give them time where they are free to do what they want. No rules, no limits. Giving the right personal space to your children is just as essential as your nurturance, love, and care.
Give a break
One of the most interesting ways on how do impart discipline to children is to give them a ‘big break’. A break from all their routines, chores, rules, boundaries, or limits. This will help them to reset their energies, their potential, and their abilities. A break will give them a period to think over again, start fresh, analyze their weakness and strengths, set up their goals, brush up on their skills, etc.
Teach them to be kind and humble
Parents must teach their children to be kind and humble to others. Being humble will ensure that your child is courteous and respectful to other people. Being humble isn’t a habit, it’s a behavior that you want to portray to your child constantly. But before teaching them to be kind to others parents themselves must be like one.
Children always look to their parents as their first teachers. Leading by example is the best way to teach a child anything.
Interesting pins on parenting & lifestyle
Disciplining children is one of the most important yet difficult responsibilities of parenting, and there are no shortcuts. Discipline is the structure that helps the child fit into the real world happily and effectively. The goal of effective discipline is to foster acceptable and appropriate behavior in the child and to raise well-behaved, responsible citizens of the nation. The goal is to help the child learn self-discipline, and develop a healthy conscience and an internal sense of responsibility and control. It should also instill moral values.
