While there's no perfect discipline hack that will work every single time, there are tips provided by experts that can make discipline easier.
You may have discovered your own set of solutions when it comes to dealing with kids' bad behavior, but having an expert's advice may make it easier. So, we've gathered different discipline hacks that can help you manage your kids.
1. Setting Rules
Experts from Parenting.com shares on how to prevent hassle during meal time with kids: "Peaceful meals begin with good preparation." Set table rules like no screen time or no phones while eating to avoid any commotion from taking place. Be sure to follow meal time rules too.
For picky eaters, a previous report from Parenting.com suggested putting the salad first especially when they're most hungry. By the time they get to the main course, the vegetables are all eaten by then.
2. Acknowledging Feelings
Here's a quick guide on how children process their feelings: Children ages 2 to 6 throw tantrums as they have a hard time expressing their feelings thru words; At ages 7 to 9, kids face new pressures; Lastly, kids ages 10 to 11 mostly have mixed feelings and during this time that they highly consider the opinion of their friends.
It is recommended to validate your kid's emotion which will teach them to recognize their feelings. Let them finish venting out their feelings but be sure to keep other kids away from him or her. Afterward, talk to your kid and let them know it's okay to be angry but be sure to talk about them next time instead of throwing a fit.
3. Change of Scenery
P&G Everyday offers to remove the kid from a place that highly agitates him. According to the website, kids do something naughty because they feel flustered or frustrated but cannot relay how they feel. Bring them to a calmer atmosphere while soothing him (lightly stroking him or singing to him).
For older kids, a quick discipline trick is to let them go outside and vent all their frustrations there. They would be so ashamed of what their neighbors could see that they would immediately stop their naughtiness.
4. Consistency
While it can be tiring at times, repeating things over and over again is the key to discipline. This will also set a pattern that kids will easily fall into. Establishing a routine will lessen instances of tantrums or room for misbehavior.
5. Compromise
To keep your sanity, learn to compromise with your kid's attitudes. Establish which ones are acceptable and which ones are not. Learn when to intervene and learn when to disregard certain behaviors. You cannot just intervene with every little action because you'll end up exhausting yourself. In turn, you will become inconsistent. Learn the "disengaging strategy": "Not giving any attention to a behavior makes it less likely that the behavior is repeated."
It is important to remember that discipline is a time for learning. As Scholastic puts it, the ultimate purpose of discipline is to teach your children the basic values and develop the self-control to follow them even if you're not around, repeated many times over. More so, it is important to give emphasis on the positive behavior than the negative ones. Check out this video for more tips:
