As a parent, discipline is one of the most essential things to imbibe in your children while they grow. Discipline is teaching your child acceptable behaviours at home and in society.

In other words, discipline teaches a child to follow the rules and distinguish between bad and good behaviours.

What are the practical discipline tools?

You may employ specific strategies to discipline your child in parenting. Common proven strategies include positive reinforcement, modelling, and sometimes, punishments. But that doesn’t mean that good discipline is mostly about punishments.

As a parent, you must be emotionally intelligent when handling your child. Shouting and spanking shouldn’t be your first approach when kids go off their rails. Before discussing practical ways to discipline children, let’s discuss parenting style. What style of parenting is effective?

Styles of parenting every Nigerian parent should know

The authoritative parent

An authoritative parent has clear expectations. They allow flexibility and collaborative problem-solving with their child when dealing with behavioural challenges.

They communicate with them and reach a common ground when handling conflict. This is the most effective form of parenting.

The authoritarian parent

An authoritarian parent has clear expectations but shows little affection toward their child. The parent may say, “Because I’m the Mommy, that’s why.”

If you don’t communicate effectively, you come off as mean, and your children will have that statement registered in their brains. This is a less effective form of parenting.

The permissive parent

A permissive parent shows affection toward their child but provides little discipline. This is also a less effective form of parenting. You should show love and affection to your children in any way possible, but not at the expense of building their morals.

If they do something wrong, discipline them. You might be the bad cop, but they’ll understand as they evolve. 

Practical strategies to discipline toddlers

While spanking may not last long, there are other ways to discipline children. They include:

Give rewards

Rewarding good behaviours is the best way to encourage your child to continue doing good. Show them all actions come with consequences.

Whenever your child does something wrong, let them see and experience the result of that behaviour.

Taking away privileges

Sometimes there isn’t a logical or natural consequence for bad behaviour, or you don’t have time to think it through. In this case, the consequence of unacceptable behaviour may be taking away a privilege like play or tv time.

How about physical punishment?

Physical punishment, such as spanking, has existed for a long time. Older parents would tell you their parents used this strategy, and they came out well. However, it isn’t recommended in this era because non-physical discipline techniques work better with fewer negative consequences. 

Research has shown that spanking makes children more aggressive and violent. It makes them think it’s okay to physically hurt someone they love.

As a parent, learn to communicate your discipline plan, stay respectful to your child and be consistent. Remember to stick with what's working for you.