How to discipline a child without punishment?

Disciplining a child is a major part of parenthood till the time when they grow independent. When a child engages in challenging behaviors we find it overwhelming because we as parents find situations going out of our hands. The reason we discipline our children so they can learn responsible behavior and self-control. They can understand actions have consequences and take responsibility for their actions. Before the begin, we must first understand:

Avoid violence & harsh words at all costs:
Children are vulnerable little humans who are learning about the world around them. If we beat them or yell at them with harsh words, the child gets traumatized and may harbor negative sentiments like you’re only there to make him/her feel bad. Another major drawback of punishment is that we unintentionally hurt the child and the correct behavior is not taught.

So what are the effective ways to discipline a child?
Our goal is teaching the child to manage his behaviors & emotions, the process is called self-monitoring, and he also develops the ability of differentiating good from bad. The only possible way to do that is to create a safe environment for the child where he can learn.

Here are some effective strategies which will help you to discipline your child ensuring the child’s safety & emotional well-being:

Pay attention towards your child when he does something good and shower your praise “Great job buddy!” Praising a good behavior encourages the child to continue it from next time onwards because for a child appreciation from parents is like a treasure. This makes the child feel special and you notice them for taking efforts.

Children learn a lot just by observing & listening to us. You can teach the difference between right and wrong by simply using calm words and actions. After having clarity, they will model the desired behaviors.

Consequences let children learn that if they do something, there will be an effect as a result. Take the advantage of positive reinforcement. Suppose a child is instructed to clean a room, he cleans the room, and mom increases his playtime or to attend an important call, dad asks him to sit quiet for 5 minutes, after ending the call he appreciates his good conduct. If you follow the consequences consistently, the likelihood of your child engaging in good behavior increases.

Spending quality time with your child is a crucial part of your parent child relationship. Just take 1 hour or at least 30 minutes and pick any play-based activity or you can do chores if your child is comfortable. Make sure you both spend quality time together. This strengthens your bond with the child and he learns to trust you.

Once you have a better understanding of what triggers your child’s behavior, You can make plans for dealing with similar situations in the future. Another thing you can do is explain to your child the upcoming activities so this prepares him for what to expect (little deviations wouldn’t matter).

Do you know the biggest secret of being calm as a parent? Knowing when not to respond. It’s very simple in practice: bigger matters require more attention, while smaller matters require less. Not only does it keep both the parent and the child happy, but it gives the child liberty to learn valuable lessons by making small mistakes.