Do you discipline your children? No parent that I know likes the whole discipline part of parenting. Not ONE! None of them are waiting, sneaking around and peering from behind corners to catch their children doing something wrong so they can discipline them. I’m fairly confident that my own mother didn’t even do that, and she was what was considered a disciplinarian even in those days. Some of her techniques were highly questionable, and for my sister, to this day, she hates the way my mom disciplined us. I, on the other hand, was okay with it even though it was the same technique.
From experience I can tell you that consistency will be your best attribute. Know what is acceptable and what isn’t; let your children know, and then follow through with appropriate discipline or punishment. Whatever the discipline is; it should be communicated, and the child should be given a choice as to choosing to improve or not, and if they don’t you have to be prepared to follow through with the before discussed discipline.
I hate needing to set boundaries for the children I babysit because I know that I will have to follow through with a disciplinary action that I said I would. I don’t want to take away their blankee, their favorite stuffed animal, make them stay in there room for a certain amount of time, or lose entertainment privileges. I hate it; BUT on the other hand if I don’t then there is nothing but mayhem, and no one around is enjoying themselves.
Choose the discipline parenting technique that suits you the best; not the easiest the BEST! Children need boundaries, and consequences because that is real life. You don’t get to work on time every day….consequence is: you lose your job, spend too much money shopping….consequence: you either don’t have enough money for rent/food OR you get bad credit. These are reasons that we need to help our children with learning consequences based on their choices at a very early age. Loving them through discipline is the BEST thing we can ever do for our children to prepare them for the real world outside.
