Discipline
This has been an ongoing topic in our home. We have tried many forms of it. My favorite is gentle discipline. It takes the most work but provided my favorite results. Then there is spanking. I am not against it. We have used it. More than I'd like. We have stopped relying on it. I found it produced some not great results. An angrier, more violent child. And let me pose this question. How does it sound when you spank a child for hitting someone? Just sayin. Gentle discipline, in our interpretation and adapted to our lifestyle, means a lot of talking, time outs, discussion of what went wrong and what we should have done, etc. For the very littles, redirection out the wazoo. Seriously. I also swore to myself I would never spank out of anger. I am not perfect at that. Have you met Gabe the professional button pusher? But I find that after I cool down a moment, a spanking is no longer in my mind.
It is more than discipline. It is an entire way of parenting. It is saying yes sometimes when you have a million things to do and the little voice asks for you go play with them. It is giving them controlled choices. It is letting them dress themselves and when they look silly, congratulating them on doing a good job. It is helping them learn who they are and gain independence while still setting boundaries, rules and providing safety. I find things get the worst when I forget. When I am just so tired and worn out.
I have read about and tried many techniques. I have discovered many personality types and different family dynamics. I have found I will try to never judge a parenting style again. Unless you are using natural consequences. That is just lazy. Or abusing. You suck in that case.
Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.