By America's Nanny Michelle LaRowe - Children aren't all created equal, so it should be no surprise that the discipline strategies that are effective for one child aren't necessarily effective for another.
While there are many discipline styles and strategies used by parents today, effective positive discipline strategies share some important similarities.
If you are finding that your discipline strategy isn't as effective as you would like, consider using these 7 tips to fine-tune your strategy and better personalize it for your child.
Books by Michelle LaRowe
A Mom's Ultimate Book of Lists: 100+ Lists to Save You Time, Money and Sanity
Grocery lists. Checklists. To-do lists. Lots of people love--and live by--lists. And parents are no exception. Today's families are busier than ever, and moms don't have the time or energy to search and scramble for the parenting information they are desperately seeking. This handy, practical reference guide will save time, money, and sanity for today's busy women.To learn more, visit www.michellelarowe.com.
Working Mom's 411 is your one-stop resource guide for navigating through the often choppy waters of managing kids, career and home. With extensive experience as a credentialed nanny, household manager and as a working mom herself, Michelle is sure to make you laugh out loud as she shares her expert take on the common dilemmas that working mothers face. Buy Now!
America's nanny offers a large dose of healthy parenting advice with secrets for raising happy, secure, and well-balanced babies and toddlers.
Faced with multiple choices regarding school, friends, and activities coupled with the ever-widening influence of the outside world, parents of 6-12 year olds need help. America's nanny is back to offer a large dose of healthy parenting advice with secrets for raising happy, secure, and well-balanced children.
1. Understand your child's interactive style. Each child has a unique way he interacts and engages his world. Parents of children who are achievers, for example, may find non-emotional discipline strategies that avoid assigning blame most effective. When your discipline strategy takes your child's interactive style into consideration, you may find it to be more effective.
2. Create an environment that is conducive to success. For some children, disorganization can trigger behavioral issues. For others, crowds and chaos can affect behavior. When you understand how your child responds to different environments, you can be proactive in creating a environment that will minimize the need for reactive disciplinary measures.
3. Encourage self-regulation. Children are created to learn to self-regulate their behaviors. Through bonding and touch children are able to successfully master this skill. Making conscious choices to bond with your child and to take advantage of natural bonding moments can help facilitate this learning process. When children learn to self-regulate, parents may need to provide less external regulation.
4. Remember there is a reason for your child's behavior. Part of effective discipline is understanding the root of your child's behavior. Children may express undesirable behavior when they are hungry, tired, frustrated or in need of attention, amongst other things. When parents are able to successfully decode their child's needs they can take appropriate measures to meet them.
5. Respond with consistency. Children feel safe and thrive off of consistency. When children know what to expect, they are better able to meet those expectations. When you respond to undesirable behavior consistently, you are sending a clear message that the behavior is not acceptable.
6. Be a role model. You can teach your child what to expect and how to respond to situations by being a solid role model. By demonstrating appropriate behavior and communication, parents can support skill development in these areas.
7. Offer appropriate support. Sometimes children need additional support to keep their behavior on track. The type and level of support may vary from child to child or situation to situation. A child who acts out when it's time for doing homework, for example, may benefit from having a reward system in place to help him achieve his goals.
When considering what type of discipline may be most effective for your child, it can be helpful to be reminded that in its purest sense, discipline is a teaching tool. When we remember that the goal of discipline is to teach our children to make good choices, we may be less likely to be reactionary parents that respond out of anger and more likely to embrace a kind, loving, respectful and positive disciplinary strategy.
To learn more about your child's personal style, read this informative article by Dr. Caron B. Goode. https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=98170273593.
