Gentle Discipline: Avoid Spanking by Preventing Misbehavior

One of the best ways of handling bad behavior is to prevent it altogether. Discipline isn't limited to punishment. Our job as parents is to teach our children self-discipline. When you parent in a way that makes your children unlikely to misbehave, you will find yourself needing to intervene less often--and far less likely to spank your child. You are not only setting your child up to be better behaved but to respond better to disciplinary methods other than spanking. The keys of prevention are understanding child development, being prepared, and setting a good example. When you do these things, there will be less opportunity for your child to misbehave. This means you will be faced with less situations where you need to intervene and may resort to spanking.

Understanding where your child is developmentally will make your expectations more reasonable. Sometimes what one interprets as misbehavior is actually developmentally-normal behavior. Expecting too much of your child will lead to disapointment and also to more parental intervention, thus more opportunities to resort to spanking. Don't expect a toddler to sit quietly through a two hour movie, for example. Different children will reach milestones at different ages. They will also go through phases of development, where they may push their boundaries, throw things just to see what happens, or start practicing a new skill such as climbing. Instead of trying to suppress age-appropriate behaviors, simply keep your child safe until she outgrows them. Do not expect her to understand the world as you do; she won't until she's grown. Understanding your child will make you far less likely to spank him.

A happy little girl

Credit: Christie Merrill

Copyright: Christie Merrill @ sxc.hu