If you are a parent, and you are trying to raise your children in the most beneficial way possible, you might want to consider what is called positive discipline parenting. Most of us growing up experienced typical parenting which involved consequences or punishment that were related to events in which we exhibited bad or questionable behavior.
When teaching children the difference between right and wrong, offering simple rewards and punishments seems to be the best course of action. However, studies have shown that implementing this type of discipline when parenting instead of punishments for wrongdoings, it actually has a much more beneficial effect. Here is an overview of this particular parenting strategy and some techniques that you can implement with your own children starting today.
What Is Disciplining In A Positive Manner Actually Mean?
Parents that have young children, especially during the ages of one and three, may find it very difficult to discipline their children using positive strategies. If a child does something wrong, most parents will correct them, and then offer some type of negative reinforcement in an attempt to stop them from doing that activity ever again. In some cases, this works very well, but it is not the best strategy to use in some cases.
Many parents will react to what occurs, instead of actually processing why the event has occurred, which may lead to yelling, spanking, or some other form of standard disciplinary action. However, during their earlier years, through using positive reinforcement in your disciplinary repertoire, you can actually see better results as they grow older.
How To Discipline With Positive Reinforcement
Many people do not understand the benefit of using positive reinforcement when it comes to disciplining their young children. They probably grew up in a home in which bad behavior always lead to some form of punishment. However, with positive reinforcement, especially in regard to correcting children that are making wrong choices, they can actually redirect their children to making better choices everyday.
Mindset Behind Using Positive Reinforcement
There is a simple mindset behind this type of parenting strategy that many people do not understand until they actually take a moment to process the methodology. In essence, you are reinforcing positive good behaviors by not giving attention to bad behaviors that occur. Parents also make the mistake of ignoring their children, or will be inconsistent about their expectations.
The goal is to always refocus and redirect your childs attention toward what the good behavior is, thus distracting them from the unwanted behavior. The more that you emphasize how bad a particular behavior is, the child may regard this as a form of attention. This is especially true of parents that are extremely busy, spend very little time with their children, and their kids will do virtually anything to get their attention.
Redirection Is The Key
The basis of this form of discipline is to redirect your children away from bad behaviors and activities. If they are doing something wrong, you need to refocus their attention on doing something else that is a permissible activity. If you are able to do this consistently, you will create a pattern of behavior within them which will motivate them to do the right thing. If all they are craving is attention, the attention that you will give them will always be positive, helping them to become more connected with making positive choices.
Although there are many people that will argue that bad behavior should never be rewarded, this is not what positive discipline is all about. It is simply a philosophy that focuses primarily on positive behavior and reinforcement, which if done on a consistent basis, will lead to more positive behaviors from your children and the elimination of the negative patterns and routines that are causing the problems.
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