Have you noticed that our typical discipline strategies – the ones where we use our power to punish our kids – tend to leave us feeling lousy about ourselves? Plus, they leave our kids feeling rotten, AND they rarely work well anyway.
That’s partly because most discipline is about doing things to our children. Research shows that ‘doing to’ doesn’t make us or our children feel good. Plus – it’s generally an ineffective teaching strategy.
An increasing number of studies suggest we can improve our discipline by working with our children instead of doing things to them to teach them. When we work with them by talking, listening, asking questions, and inviting them to develop solutions to challenging circumstances, they become more disciplined – and we feel good about our discipline strategies.
Discipline means teaching good ways to act. And the best teaching happens when we work together, not when we have things done to us.
Find out more about raising positive kids at happyfamilies.com.au.
