How Can Positive Discipline be Implemented in the Household

According to Jane Nelsen Ed.D., author of the Positive Discipline Series and a licensed marriage, family, and child counselor, threatening kids will never be effective as kids will turn out more terrified than understanding if they did something right or wrong.

Experts are now encouraging parents to implement positive discipline in a household as it is a form of parenting technique that is mainly focused on kindness and trust. According to Ari Brown, M.D., pediatrician and author of Baby 411 and Toddler 411, positive discipline means displaying both respect and love towards your child. In this type of discipline, parents will teach children to correct what is wrong while showing affection and love towards their kids. Such affirmative actions would make a child secure, respected, and loved. This will help children to grow out of positive behavior in the future.

Shauna Shapiro, Ph.D., professor, speaker, and co-author of Mindful Discipline: A Loving Approach to Setting Limits and Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child, said that positive parenting doesn't necessarily mean eliminating discipline at all but rather establishing a loving hierarchy in which a child feels safe and protected.

Positive discipline guides children in the right direction while allowing the parents to view such discipline as a tool or instrument that would educate children on both right and wrong, per Parents.

Letting kids know the consequences of their actions

Dr. Brown said that the main key to an effective discipline is establishing both plans and setting limits.

Negative discipline only brings fear, distrust, and low self-esteem to children, thus, it must not have a space in the house nor in parenting as this will bring no good to children. Dr. Shapiro states that when someone shames a child or other people, parts of the brain that are in charge of learning new behaviors are shut down. When parents shame their child, the behavior parents don't like will not be immediately changed as the child will first respond to it negatively and is likely to repeat it again. In the long run, low self-esteem and confidence will be the issues for such kids due to the negative discipline they have encountered.

On the other hand, kids who are under positive discipline, are more likely motivated and empowered. Experts confirmed that such a form of discipline will eventually help kids to have emotional stability, confidence, and compassion. Teens who recognize their parents as both kind and firm have displayed numbers of academic success and a descending risk of substance abuse, per Positive Discipline.

Read Also: Parenting Tips: How to Discipline Your Toddler

Choosing positive discipline over other forms of discipline

According to Lucie Cluver, Oxford University Professor of Child and Family Social Work and mother of two, positive discipline is one of the effective discipline techniques as this approach helps both parents and child to establish a positive relationship.

Parents hit or shout at their kids out of stress but such actions clearly signify the huge impact they can have on a child's life. Stress that happens within the household can usually lead to school dropout and other negative outcomes. These are the reasons why experts suggest positive discipline as it can help children to flourish and grow.

According to UNICEF or United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, positive discipline helps in developing a healthy relationship with a child while setting limitations on the child.

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