by Natasha Grigorash

Created on: December 27, 2009

There are many things that constitute a good parent. One of the most important, in my opinion, is the ability to discipline. A good parent will show love for their child by disciplining them, not by allowing them to do whatever they want.

One of the things that I’ve always thought any good parent should be able to do is to be consistent and exercise the power of “no”. In this day and age I have noticed most parents allow their children to do whatever they want. That’s not love. Because true love means doing whatever is best for a person. And letting children always have their way in everything is definitely not best for them.  Kids only can become spoiled that way. It was not so in the former times. It used to be that if a child asked for a toy, they had to wait until Christmas or another significant holiday to get it, or else they had to work for it, mow a lawn or deliver newspapers. Now it seems all a kid has to do is point their finger at some particular item or whine a little, and they get what they want. Today children grow up believing they’re “most precious angels” the whole world must admire. Is it any wonder, then, they lose it when the world does not see them that way?

Most of the time, it is in one-parent households that you can find no discipline. For this reason it is not advisable to have children if you plan on raising them alone. It is one thing when you are forced to continue raise your kids on your own (i.e. when your spouse leaves or dies), but if you deliberately want to be a single mom, you’re not really doing your kid any favor. Because, face it, there will be less discipline, and your kid will end up having issues, it’s not going to be easy for them.

In the past most children grew up in two-parents households, a mother usually stayed at home, a father usually worked, and it had its advantages. Kids did not have to be alone when they came back from school, there was more discipline. After all, a good parent is a parent who spends time with their child, it’s someone who helps them do their homework, instead of taking an impassive approach and just calling the school once in a while to see if everything’s fine, or whatever; it’s someone who will make them go outside and play, instead of letting them be on the computer all day, or in front of a TV.

Another thing to be said about discipline is that, sadly, you won’t go far with timeouts. I believe that the best way to get your children to obey you is by spanking them whenever they do wrong. That makes them think twice before doing something, doesn’t it?  Because if a child is young, all the talks in the world about why something is wrong will do them no good, they just won’t get it. But, if you spank them, they will remember it next time they are tempted to disobey. Then, when they are older and their capacity for understanding increases, you can gradually explain some things to them.

It’s a little bit old-school, but it’s something I believe to be right.

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