How Do You Discipline Your Child?
Jen: Take Away Privileges
After a lot of failed attempts at things like screaming and time-outs (I actually think they liked it), I have found that consequences are the only thing that my kids respond to.
Here are my rules:
1. Get Them Where It Hurts
Each child has different things that are important to them. My son loves his time with electronics, so taking away his gaming system is a perfect consequence for him. My daughter, however, could care less about electronics. She cares more about her play dates or social events. Taking those away from her is a real blow.
2. Give Yourself Time to Think
Often when my kids are acting up, my blood is boiling and I’m not thinking straight. I usually say to them, “You have a consequence” and then I leave the room. This is helpful on two levels. For one, I can really think about what the consequence should be. And two, my kids are terrified while waiting for their sentence. Making them sweat it out is a good thing!
3. Don’t Discipline Yourself
In the spur of the moment I have yelled, “You can’t go to your friend’s birthday party.” The problem is that I was looking forward to the party and some quality time with MY friends. This was not a good consequence because, well, I got punished too!
I would love to hear what works for the rest of you. Just writing this has elevated my heart rate. Need a nice glass of wine. It’s 5 o’clock somewhere!
