This article will discuss what discipline techniques you should avoid. It will cover how to correctly use time-out to get good behavior and will end discussing how to use positive reinforcement to reward good behavior.

To begin we need to cover which discipline techniques you should avoid. Listed below are 10 discipline techniques that fail.

1 Embarrassment

2 Humiliation

3 Spanking

4 Taking away toys, favorite things

5 Psychological punishment

6 Not following through

7 Pleading, begging

8 Nagging

9 Yelling

10 Threatening

There is an alternative to all these types of discipline that really does work. Providing time-out for misbehavior is the number one way to get the results that you want.

First you should prepare an area to be the designated time-out spot. This can be a chair, a rug, the child's bed, or anywhere that the child will be alone. The child should have no interaction with others.

When the child miss behaves you should always give a warning such as, "If you continue with this behavior you will be put in the time-out seat." If the behavior continues, remove the child from the situation.(Placing them on the time-out seat.) Get down on the child's level, look them in the eyes and explain in short sentences why the child is going into time-out. For example, "You are in time-out because you did not get off the table when mommy said to. You will be in time-out for 5 minutes.(One minute per year of the child's age.) Your voice should be calm but firm. Then you should stand up and walk away.

Most times when you are beginning to use time-out the child will "fight" you, or see if they can get you to give in. Don't be surprised if they get up and try to walk off. Be patient, place the child back in time-out. They may try to "break" you several times. Relax, breath, and keep at it. Eventually the child will realize you are serious and the child will sit in time-out.

Once the child realizes you are serious about discipline they will quickly learn which behaviors are allowed and which will get them put in time-out. Remember that for older children time-out does not begin until the child is quiet even if it takes an hour. This does not apply to younger children because they may not be able to sit still for more than a minute. When time-out is over, explain to the child why they were in time-out. Tell them you love them and give them a hug. This will show them that you are not angry with them. That leads us into positive reinforcement. You should always praise good behavior by providing positive reinforcement. Children want to be praised, if they know you will praise their good behavior, then they are more likely to follow the boundaries you have set for them. You should offer rewards or incentives when you catch your child exhibiting good behavior. You can use a sticker chart with rewards as simple as a half of an hour with mom alone, or ice cream with dad. They'll try the hardest when the reward is for time with a parent alone. For older children, you may have to be more creative, for example, 15 good behavior stickers equals a new pair of jeans. Whatever the incentive the child has to want it and you have to follow through with the reward. Remember, children learn through repetition, so remain calm, do what you say you will do (follow through), and always try to catch them doing something right.

The information in this article showed you what discipline techniques to avoid. You learned how to use time-out effectively to discipline your child. You also learned how to use positive reinforcements to praise good behavior in your child.

Tags & Keywords : timeout, discipline, behavior