What does Discipline mean? What do you think of when you see this word? How were you disciplined as a child? Where did your ideas around discipline come from? Do we believe there is a difference between discipline, reward, and punishment? What is your go-to technique for disciplining your child?
As Fathers, have we ever contemplated these questions? If we research the origin of the word discipline, we find that it comes from the Latin discipulus, which means “to teach or to guide”. How can we make our disciplining into a teaching moment, to guide our children into positive behavior and habits? When we consider what we wish to teach our children, we must first consider what are our beliefs, morals, values, and behaviors we want to model for our children. Modeling is perhaps the single most important way we show our children how to behave. Children mirror our behavior. How often have we heard the statement, “Do as I say, not as I do?” How effective has this demand been for you as a child or parent?
Consider your style and approach to disciplining your children. Our style of discipline is often a combination of how we were disciplined as children, by our parents, our own personality, and an expression of our beliefs, morals and values. How do you believe children should behave? Where do these beliefs come from? What values are important to us? How do we express those values to our children? These are all important questions to self-reflect on to get a better understanding of our parenting style and approach to discipline.
At Parent Aid, we help parents model “Active Parenting” by using simple and effective techniques such as “when, then”, “either, or”, and “if, then”, to help children learn natural and logical consequences to their behavior. We encourage parents to listen to and acknowledge their children’s behavior as an expression of their needs. Check out our website at parentaid.org for some great options to help you become better guides for our kids. We also invite you to explore our courses like “The 24/7 Dad PM – Parenting Class Series” beginning August 17th, 2022. Please check the link at https://parentaid.org/event/24-7-dad-pm-parenting-class/ for more information.
