Teaching Your Child Discipline

When a child is born into this world all what it knows is to demand, demand food, demand love, demand attention and if its demand is not met the child gets into tantrums. The mother normally gives in when the child is too small to understand that its demands are not be fulfilled each time they are made. But as the child grows disciplining becomes imperative. Disciplining is simply a way of telling the child that it needs to behave in a manner that is acceptable to society and in the long run it will benefit the child itself. The tendency of a child to behave in a way that gives it joy but hurts the other or destroys itself in the long run needs to be curbed and this is called disciplining the child.

AGE FACTOR
The age factor depends on the individual child. Not all can follow instructions and it is the duty of the parents to judge for themselves when and at what age disciplining can begin when it comes to their own children. Invariably girls accept discipline in a much better way than boys. A child should be given space to live its life and observed for any actions that may require discipline. Breathing down its neck can make the child revolt. So let the child make mistakes and let the child know the consequences of its behavior to be explained in a loving and cheerful way.

Teaching discipline is not a children’s game. Especially these days when they are exposed to the media and see for themselves child delinquency and how mildly it is handled, can send shivers down a parent’s spine. Therefore, a child needs to be handled with kid gloves. May be in a playful manner, offering incentives, appreciating when the child corrects itself. Being harsh, cruel or losing ones temper can spell disaster. A child should never be corrected in the presence of others more so when their friends are around. Although punishment is not the ultimate in disciplining the child – sparing the rod and spoiling the child could also make matters difficult for the parent. Once in a way punishment does go a long way not the kind of punishment that inflicts any bodily injury but may be not sending the child out to play could be quite a punishment for the child. There are various methods how a child could be disciplined. There are group therapies where performance incentives can give wonderful results. The competition always plays an important role in behavior patterns of a child.

Yoga and meditation is yet another area that can make a child remain calm and composed and concentrate and therefore there could be lesser need for disciplining the child. Daily application of Yoga will make a child good Human Being as Yoga is really helpful for future perspectives.

A child behaves badly when it is emotionally upset and this happens if the atmosphere in the house is not conducive to peaceful living. Parents have a big responsibility in creating a good atmosphere. Fighting or arguing in front of the children is one of the influences that leads a child to behave badly. It is also important that parents do not compare their own children with one another. This again will affect a child's psyche and the smarter child needs to be curbed as it will have the tendency to look down upon the other child who is not doing so well. All this is part of discipline.

Disciplining children with the food they choose is another area which is crucial. A child always chooses what it likes to eat and not what is good for health. This is the most difficult area where discipline becomes a problem. A lot of convincing will be required in this sphere.

The other aspect is pocket money. This is one area also where children get into tantrums and always compare what their friends and peers get. It is the duty of the parents to explain to the child their financial situation and also insist that they give an account of what they have done with the money.

There has to be a strict vigil kept on the kind of friends they have and get to know the parents of these friends so that the children know that the parents are 'watching'.
Playtime, homework time are times that need to be scheduled and the progress watched as also their demand for owning toys and other paraphernalia which they should learn how to maintain as also how to put law and order in their room.
Children have a tendency to throw things around. Here offering incentives goes a long way and a pat on the back is all what would be needed for them to have their rooms cleaned.
Some children hate to have a bath. Here again it is important for the parents to discipline the child and explain the bad effects of staying away from keeping themselves clean.

Therefore a child can only be disciplines when he/she is young and can be moulded into a worthy adult.

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