I will not say that I am an expert in disciplining children, but I do know a trick or two. With three children under my belt, I did earn a white belt or something in discipline. My children are not saints but I can honestly say that they are not rascals either. Now I will share to you my tricks.
Establish boundaries
I see to it that my children know what is allowed and what is not allowed, and I make sure that they understand why, and what is the penalty for violating Mom’s rules.
Reinforce the boundariesOur children, no matter how adorable they all look like, do sometimes behave like outlaws and deliberately cross the line. I called this disobedience, and this carries with it the maximum penalty. As a mother it is my God-given responsibility to remain consistently steadfast and firm with my ‘NO’ in the face of my children’s pleading, crying, negotiations, etc. and to impose the pre-agreed penalty when necessary.
Reinforce the boundariesOur children, no matter how adorable they all look like, do sometimes behave like outlaws and deliberately cross the line. I called this disobedience, and this carries with it the maximum penalty. As a mother it is my God-given responsibility to remain consistently steadfast and firm with my ‘NO’ in the face of my children’s pleading, crying, negotiations, etc. and to impose the pre-agreed penalty when necessary.
Discipline to teach
To me, discipline is to teach my child a lesson; it is not to vent my frustration and anger. Of course I am not a perfect mom, I made mistakes from time to time, but I always tried my best to overcome my shortcomings.
Use the blue slipper
At home, disobedience is the worst mistake, and therefore deserves the maximum penalty – the blue slipper. I choose this because it can be painful yet not so hard. The point of inflicting pain is to make sure that they cannot forget their mistake. Let me emphasize that, I don’t discipline my children for childish for breaking a glass because lack of motor control. Disobedience and lack of respect is what I don’t tolerate.
Put a closure
At home, after every disciplinary session I see to it that there is a closure. This is very important part of the discipline process. I did this by talking to my child, explaining to her the consequence of her wrong action to her and to others, telling her that I love her and that I don’t want her to become a bad person, hugging her for the longest time, and praying loudly for her.
