by Sharon Copeland

Created on: August 21, 2009

Discipline and punishment are very easy to define, but very hard to judge when you are an upset parent. The rules have always been that discipline is for the good of the child, to make them know the difference of what is right and wrong. Discipline comes from love, where punishment comes from anger. If a child is doing something that is going to hurt themselves or someone else you need to step in and discipline them.. Usually discipline for toddlers and young children consist of time outs. Putting the child in a designated spot for one minute for each year old they are. The child usually doesn't like to stay in one spot for too long, so this is usually very effective for curbing the behavior you are trying to avoid. It might take a few times for them to catch on, but after they have sat in the "naughty" spot a few times they will stop the behavior. It is harder to discipline older children because time outs aren't going to work on tweens or teenagers. Usually having them turn the videos or television off for a specific amount of time works wonders.

Punishment on the other hand isn't something for the good of the child. It usually consists of humiliation, unfair consequences or a lot of yelling. Punishment also comes from tired and overwhelmed parents. We need to realize that children can be loud or silly. It isn't right to punish a child for being a child. A child should never be punished with something that will degrade them or make them feel worthless. If this happens, the child often grows into an angry teenager that rebels and won't show respect to anyone else. That angry teenager then turns into an angry adult and the cycle of abuse grows.

Children need discipline to have good character and morals. They need to know right from wrong and what type of behavior is acceptable in society. They need to be shown with love, kindness and respect. Our little ones are precious and they need to feel surrounded by people who love them and want what is best for them. These children are the adults of tomorrow. We want them to be people who can handle their emotions and know what is expected of them. The best way to accomplish this is to bring them up with discipline and not punishment. Give them lots of love and what you get in return is priceless.

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