by Krystie Bohmer

Created on: November 03, 2009

Upon being placed in the arms of a parent, the newborn child finds warmth and a sense of security. The parent however is filled with an immediate passion and a natural instinct to protect this infant from any harm and danger that may confront the child through the 'growing up' stages.

Without any intention to endanger a child, sometimes the most harm can come from right inside his own home, directly affecting the emotional well-being of the same child that was vowed to be protected. Raising a child is no easy task by any means. However, some parents are blessed with self-discipline which makes certain situations easier to handle in a correct fashion. More than likely this characteristic trait was embedded into the parent while they themselves were growing up. They were taught and given the tools needed to stay in control of their actions, embracing the ability to be self-disciplined.

A parent who possesses self-discipline knows that there will be a need to not only punish your child but to also follow through with the punishment. Whereas the parent who lacks self-discipline can tend to be wishy washy allowing the child to put a guilt trip on them resulting in the child being let off the hook. If this scenario only occurs once in a blue moon it probably would not be harmful. It is when the lack of self-discipline jumps in enabling this to become a regular routine when the child is in need of correcting a behavior. In this event, the parent really needs to take a serious look at whether or not the child is learning any lessons from this method of disciplining. The only lesson this child is learning from these repeated efforts of discipline is how to manipulate, be disrespectful and selfish. This can and will stunt the emotional growth of the child.

A parent who actively practices self-discipline also knows their limits. They know when too little is not enough and when to stop something before it is considered too much. For some this comes naturally but for others who are lacking or have no self-discipline, the choice of action in disciplining can become a struggle. Without having self-discipline the angry and frustrated parent can often lose control which may possible result in abusing the child. The effects on the child who witnesses or is a victim to this type of scenario can be traumatizing both emotionally and physically. This child learns a lesson of confronting anger with a returned anger. They are being taught that there is no respect for others big or small.

What has been explained above is that when a parent lacks skills to be self-disciplined one cannot efficiently teach their children valuable lessons that will benefit the child. The end results that will happen to a child who is parented by a parent who has little or no self-discipline can only hinder the growth of a child both physically and mentally. Without being educated or informed of self-discipline the grown child will more than likely pass these harmful dangers onto their own offspring. Until a parent within this chain realizes the importance of self-discipline this cycle will continue to repeat over and over again.

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