Using Gentle Discipline with Your Child

Raising a child can be one of the most difficult tasks anyone can do. Being fully responsible for a tiny, helpless human being and in charge of showing them how to grow into loving, capable, trustworthy adults can be a momentous task with more ups and downs that the best roller coaster. One of the best ways to help your child grow is creating a "No Free Zone" in your home and allowing your child to explore and learn unhindered.

When some parents hear about raising a child without saying no they immediately imagine the worst. Filthy children, destroying everything in their path, eating sugar coated candy and watching cartoons for hours. Many believe that every child who has a tantrum, every child who runs out into the street, and every child who disobeys is a child who was not taught the word no. However, using gentle discipline with your child does not create the wild, untamed terrors that it is blamed for. Often children are told no several times during the day. Do not touch, do not play with, do not go there, do not do that, and on and on. The constant barrage of no leaves a child desensitized and less likely to respond, which can be dangerous in certain situations in which we need children to stop for their own safety. But when we limit our use of no we not only allow a child freedom to grow we also ensure that on the occasions that we truly need to use no the child will respond.

One of the first things to do is to turn the home environment into one where you do not have to say no. Installing child safety locks and gates will help create boundaries that your child can discover for themselves without needing you to stop them. Using safety devices around your home protects both your child and yourself from mishaps. You should also move the things that you do not want your child to play with. Children are hardwired to explore and learn; expecting them to stop or to not touch goes against their internal drives. Instead of expecting your child to restrain himself simply move books, knick-knacks, and other objects to safer places. Removing the temptation is easier than enduring struggle after struggle over your child's need to touch things.