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Effective Discipline Without Physical Punishment

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Effective Discipline Without Physical Punishment
Effective Discipline without Physical Punishment
Jennifer Bailey
Westerns Governors University

Effective Discipline without Physical Punishment Contrary to what generations of parents have experienced in their own childhood, physical punishment is not an effective method to use when rearing children. Parents should become educated in other strategies that are non-physical and more effective in curbing misbehavior in children. Positive effective methods would include using timeouts, reasoning, logical consequences and reparation. In its most general sense, discipline refers to systematic instruction given to a disciple. To discipline means to instruct a person to follow a particular code of conduct, while the purpose of discipline is to develop and entrench desirable social habits in children. These habits are what will enable children to become productive members of society in adulthood. For children discipline is a set of rules, rewards and punishments to teach self-control. Punishments should never do physical, mental or emotional harm when dispensed. Kohn (2005) teaches us that when a major infraction occurs, parents should apply a consequence that has enough symbolic value that it convinces the child not to repeat the offense. Discipline is one of the most important elements in rearing children. The ultimate goal is to foster sound judgment and morals so the child will develop and maintain self-discipline throughout the rest of their life. Through proper discipline, children learn how to function in a family and society that is full of boundaries, rules, and laws by which we all must abide. Effective punishment can enable children to learn self-control and responsibility of their own behavior. Many experts, including The American Academy of Pediatrics [AAP] (1998) believe that effective punishment consists of both punitive and non-punitive methods, but does not involve any forms of physical punishment. The punishment set forth


References: Kohn, A. (2005). Unconditional parenting; moving from rewards and punishment to love and reason. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc. Nemours Foundation. (2008a, November). Nine steps to more effective parenting. Retrieved January 7, 2010, from http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/nine_steps.html Nemours Foundation Ralph Waldo Emerson. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved April 30, 2010, from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/ralphwaldo121093.html Ross, J Sanders, M., Cann, W., & Markie-Dadds, C. (2003). The Triple P-Positive Parenting Programme: A Universal Population-Level Approach to the Prevention of Child Abuse. Child Abuse Review, 78, 155-171. DOI: 10.1002/car.798 Severe, S Vittrup, B., & Holden, G. (2006, June). Attitudes Predict the Use of Physical Punishment: A Prospective Study of the Emergence of Disciplinary Practices. Pediatrics 117(6), 2055-2064. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2005-2204
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