| Disciplining children can be a nightmare but there are | | | | growl or do anything. Most of these are natural |
| things we can do as parents and carers to make | | | | consequences that are a direct impact of a not so |
| things easier for ourselves. I taught my kids at a young | | | | good action preceding. |
| age that there are certain consequences for our | | | | There are also good consequences that follow great |
| actions, whether good or bad. | | | | decisions and here are a few examples: |
| When our kids learn to accept certain laws and abide | | | | * if my room is tidy, mom is likely to let me go to my |
| by them it makes discipline so much easier. These are | | | | friend's house |
| just a few simple things that my kids have learned | | | | * if I am always at school on time I will have a good |
| over the past few years: | | | | reputation and the teachers will be happy with me |
| * when I spend all my pocket money on the first day I | | | | * if I save some of my pocket money I will get to |
| have no money for the rest of the week | | | | spend it later on in the week |
| * if I am late for school I am likely to get a detention | | | | Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. Parents |
| from the teacher | | | | should not allow our kids to use consequences where |
| * if I run in the house and fall over I am likely to hurt | | | | it is a safety issue. an example would be not to let |
| myself | | | | your kid run in front of a car and let them learn by |
| * if I don't keep my room tidy I most probably can't go | | | | getting hit by it. |
| out and play with my friends | | | | Once kids understand that this is the way that the |
| * if I break someone else's toy I might have to replace | | | | world operates they will learn to abide by the rules and |
| it with one of my favorite toys | | | | then they won't see you as the enemy or spoil sport in |
| * if I am mean to my brother chances are he won't | | | | their lives. This is important as you want to preserve |
| want to play with me very often | | | | your relationship with your kids as much as possible. |
| * if I don't take my hat to school I won't get to play on | | | | At least eighty percent of our interaction with our kids |
| the playground at lunch time | | | | needs to be positive. By ensuring this we help our kids |
| The above examples take the pressure off having to | | | | to establish their self esteem and feel good about |
| find ways to discipline our kids. We need to learn to | | | | themselves, which we all know is vitally important. |
| use consequences to our advantage as much as we | | | | These are just a few tips to help parents rethink their |
| can. The great thing about this is that when the | | | | plans on disciplining kids. |
| consequences happen we don't need to take part and | | | | |