Positive Discipline at Home

Staying positive is important, even while disciplining. Stating clear expectations for your child will help them know what they are supposed to be doing. Reviewing the rules beforehand is also helpful. I know as parents we sometimes get tired of repeating things over and over but it is important to remind your children what they should be doing. Focusing on what they should be doing is also better than focusing on what they should not be doing. As a society we are quick to say, “stop” but instead of telling them “stop running” try “use your walking feet”. Or instead of “stop hitting your sister” try “keep your hands to yourself”. By stating the positive expectations, we are clearly defining what we want our children to be doing. If you say “stop running” then your child starts skipping or jumping then you are correcting them over and over again but if you say “use your walking feet” they know exactly what you want them to do. It is also important that everyone in the household is on the same page as far as rules and expectations. At school we have a universal matrix and all the rules in our school are the same. So it does not matter which teacher or therapist you are with, the expectations are the same. Try this at home. Look at all the areas of your house and create rules that are positively stated and reinforce those rules with your children. Teach them how you want them to behave. It is also important that as parents you follow through with what you say. If your child is misbehaving at the playground and you say, “if you climb up the slide one more time we are leaving” and they climb up the slide again and you don’t leave, then you have reinforced that behavior. Setting expectations and consequences for not abiding by the expectations ahead of time will give your children predictability. Here is an article to check out for additional ways to encourage compliance at home: A Dozen Ways to Encourage Compliance: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GIdiGaF8r-QWLiYNHiKI_5MMfTKkrGk_/view?usp=sharing