Discipline

 As a new parent, one of the most difficult things has been seeing my little one upset. Whether he hit himself with a toy or doesn't want to take a nap, his cries are heart wrenching. I always seem to find a way to hold myself accountable for his anguish. 

As he is becoming more independent, he is learning how to walk, talk, eat, etc, and he's also learning how to hit, bite, and scream. Unfortunately, he wasn't born knowing which new skills are good and which one's he probably shouldn't practice as much. Teaching him how to behave is something that my husband and I must do. However, this will probably cause quite a bit of distress for my sweet, unsuspecting toddler. 

As much as discipline can be difficult, it is necessary for our children. However, let my preface this a little be mentioning that violent punishment is not an effective form of discipline and should never be used. Instead, we really need to be able to respond in a way that will help our children understand that their behavior was unacceptable. 

For example: if a young child throws a ball in the house after he has been told explicitly not to do so, the ball could be taken away for a period of time as the child is reminded of the behavioral expectation. Or if a child throws a tantrum when you won't give her a piece of candy, she could be sent to time out for an appropriate amount of time. 

Children need to be raised to understand that their actions have consequences and their are clear moral and social boundaries. Too many people  today do not understand these boundaries or blatantly choose to ignore them because they were never taught about the consequences. It is up to us as parents to compassionately discipline our children and teach them these behavioral expectations while we still can.  

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