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You should establish a disciplinary procedure early on in your child’s life. It’s important that they know there are consequences for their actions. And deciding whether--and how--to punish your children is a big decision.
Different situations call for different disciplinary actions. You’ll figure this out on your own. When your child hits somebody in dayschool, should you spank and hit him back in order to prove that hitting is wrong? Something tells me that that may not work in the child’s mind. Know that each situation should be handled differently. And that no one disciplinary action is appropriate for every mistake a child makes. But you do need to let a child know that there will be disciplinary action taken for every mistake. Discipline of one sort or another.
You should remember that your goal should not be necessarily to shun bad behavior but to encourage good behavior. You should also keep in mind that your child notices when you’re upset with them, even when you don’t say anything. If she knows she broke a rule or was misbehaving in some way and if she knows you saw her break this rule, she’ll know that that’s not the behavior you’ve tried to teach her. You need to reassure her what the proper behavior is and that you were disappointed in how she handled the situation and tell her that you hope she will act differently next time.
Of course, punishment of a more severe type should be discussed if the negative behavior is continued. Deciding whether to punish your child is up to the parents raising the kids. You need to discuss the pluses and minuses of the situation at hand and determine what is right for your kid at that point in her life for that particular activity. It’s not an easy decision to make. But that’s why you’re the parent. You’re in charge of this punishment.
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