Parenting is a tough terrain, filled with unexpected twists and turns. No matter how prepared you feel, you can still find yourself trapped in a loop of never-ending challenges. To that end, one of the biggest impediments parents face today while raising kids is disciplining them correctly. In fact, we have come across many parents who experience guilt and self-doubt while disciplining children because they feel they’re either being too strict or too lenient on their little ones. If you find yourself in a similar situation, this article is for you!
We at The Navyandhra School, regarded as one of the top schools in sector 49, Gurgaon, have spoken to several parents to understand their disciplining approach and pain points, and found a common mistake that most of them were making, i.e., over-correcting their kids. To help parents balance correcting their child’s behavior and preserving their unique spirit and self-esteem, we’ve compiled a list of some practical and highly effective tips.
When followed diligently, it can help you raise disciplined kids without stifling their self-expression, creativity, autonomy, and joy. If you’re ready, let’s quickly explore the handpicked actionable tips shared in this blog post below.
- Hear Them Out: The Power of Active Listening
Discipline doesn’t have to be a one-way street. Parents must take time out of their daily schedule to listen to their kid’s perspectives, feelings, and concerns on topics that influence both. Whenever your child comes to you with a problem or misbehaves for any reason, resist the urge to jump to conclusions or interrupt while they speak.
They should be given a healthy and non-judgmental environment where they feel heard, validated, and understood. Once you let kids freely express their emotions and intentions behind their actions, it becomes easier to understand their viewpoint. This can be used to your benefit while disciplining kids.
- Know When NOT to Respond: Choose Your Battles Wisely
As parents, it is difficult to watch kids make mistakes and not intervene. However, we at The Navyandhra School would like to remind you here that not all situations require immediate correction or intervention. You must learn to distinguish between minor issues and the ones that deserve instant attention. When you stop getting involved in every single situation, you give your kids the much-needed space to make choices and learn from natural consequences.
It can be a valuable lesson in personal responsibility. For example, when you notice your kids indulging in behaviors that are not disruptive or harmful, take a step back. By exercising restraint and letting kids navigate certain situations on their own, you foster independence and critical thinking.
- Avoid Using Manipulative Tactics to Discipline Kids
Discipline should never involve manipulative tactics or emotional manipulation. If you want to discipline your kids correctly, maintain trust and respect in your parent-child relationship. Never resort to using guilt, shame, or fear as a tool to discipline your kids. Instead, try and replace these with open communication, proper guidance, and making them understand the consequences of their actions.
When you follow these activities instead of manipulative tactics, you teach your kids to make responsible and right decisions. It can be tough to follow and may take a significant amount of time to show visible results, but it will certainly work.
- Praise the Positives
Focusing and acknowledging the positives in your child’s behavior can be a potent tool for effective discipline. We at The Navyandhra School have seen that acknowledging and praising the efforts, achievements, and responsible actions of kids actually work wonders in empowering and encouraging them to make positive choices. It eventually helps reduce the need to discipline them and leads them to make conscious and well-thought-of decisions.
Keep in mind, you don’t have to wait for major achievements to praise your kids. Start being more intentional and praise children’s positive behavior. Praise them whenever they exhibit kindness, act responsibly, or show perseverance. It will help them cultivate a positive mindset and be more open to your disciplinary approach.
- Give Them Attention and Quality Time
Children always crave attention and a loving connection with their parents. When you make them feel special by spending quality time with them regularly, they become more receptive to your disciplinary methods. When that happens, they will try to follow your guidance instead of resisting the same.
Thus, today, through this write-up, we would like to advise the parents to prioritize spending quality time with their little ones by either engaging in fun activities or simply taking out time to have some heart-to-heart discussions with them. Trust us; it will help your kids reinforce their worth and establish a strong foundation for discipline.
You can start by engaging them in activities like reading, playing games, going for a walk, etc. Try to be fully present with your kids by actively participating and showing genuine interest in whatever they are doing. Once their emotional needs are nourished, it will become easier to initiate disciplinary talks.
Conclusion
Disciplining is often viewed as a synonym for punishment. It is largely because of the methods that people use for disciplining kids. We at The Navyandhra School, one of the top schools in Sector 49, firmly believe that discipline need not always follow punishment or other negative ways. There is a better way to do it. In fact, you can witness better results if you ditch the traditional disciplining methods and follow the ones discussed in this blog post.
