Knowing How To Discipline Your Kids Is Hard

We all have those days when everything goes wrong. One of the kids throws a tantrum at the supermarket; another starts a fight at school – being a mom is hard work. There are many things that make parenthood hard, but the worst is knowing how and when to discipline your kids.

This is especially true when it comes to telling off toddlers; it’s just so tricky knowing when you should discipline them. Especially as it would seem that often, they just don’t understand.

Disciplining your child is not about spanking them – a topic for another day, it’s about setting rules and enforcing them. It’s also about knowing the best ways to punish your child for naughty behavior and how to prevent them from repeating it. To make dishing out discipline easier, here are a few tips to take note of:

Choose your battles

Many moms make the mistake of wanting their kids to be perfect, but it’s important to be realistic. If you are always telling your child off for little things, they will become immune to being disciplined.

You need to pick your battles and only tell your children off for behaviour that is really naughty. For actions bordering on naughty, give your child a warning. Say something like, ‘Please stop doing that. Otherwise, you’ll be in trouble.’

Be authoritative

When it comes to teaching your kids right from wrong, it’s important that you are an authoritative figure. If your children see you as more of a playmate than the person who is in charge, they won’t take discipline well.

That’s why, it’s important that when it comes to your children, that you adopt an authoritative parenting style. That way you can ensure that when you tell your kids off, they respect and listen to you.

Prevent naughty behavior

A lot of naughty behaviour in young children is preventable. For example, if your child loves drawing on the walls, keep the crayons out of reach. Or, if your child likes unrolling toilet rolls, place them on a high shelf out of their way.

Sometimes, it’s easier to remove temptation from your child rather than telling them off. Many children start to act out when they are tired, bored or hungry, and it’s important to be able to spot this. If a child is acting out because they need something, don’t punish them as they’re not deliberately being naughty. Instead, find out what they need and help them to feel better.

Be consistent

When it comes to disciplining your child, you need to be persistent. You can’t tell them off for smacking their younger sister one day, and then the following day let the same behavior slide. Younger children often struggle to learn what is and isn’t acceptable behavior. So it’s crucial that you are consistent with what you tell them off for doing.

Disciplining your kids is never easy, especially when they are young. However, if you want to ensure that your child knows what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour, telling them off when they are naughty is crucial.

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