Discipline

This handout is published with permission from Parents Place of Palo Alto and San Mateo:

10 Discipline Techniques

1. Use distraction to get your child’s attention away from inappropriate behaviors.
2. Make sure you make a “connection” with the child through eye contact etc. to make your directions more effective.
3. Physically move your child when he is misbehaving, especially if he did not respond to your verbal directions.
4. Use extinction to remove attention from undesirable actions. As long as your child can’t hurt himself, you can walk away and not give him attention or an audience for acting inappropriately, especially if he is having a temper tantrum. Giving too much attention to the child when he misbehaves could reinforce the behavior.
5. Use natural and logical consequences.
6. Use time-out as a time to promote the child to “cool out” and re-group. Time outs that demean the child will not help behavior.
7. Withholding privileges is a very effective discipline technique, especially with children 5 and older.
8. Take a few minutes to calm a child before you try to get the child to understand the lesson of “right and wrong”.
9. Try to predict when behavior may turn inappropriate and redirect before anything negative occurs.
10. Talk to children privately about their inappropriate behavior and keep an even tone in your voice.