by Monica K

Created on: July 18, 2007

Proper discipline should begin the moment a child is brought into this world. WAIT don't walk away shocked, appalled, and disgusted quite yet, allow me to explain. Discipline, as defined by The New American Webster Handy College Dictionary Third Edition, is 1, mental and moral training. 2, obedience to rules. 3, correction; chastisement. 4, a set of regulations; regimen. 5, a course of study; a science or art. In other words, life itself requires discipline. Just like the definition itself, discipline varies in form and magnitude. Therefore, in order to properly answer the question, "When should a parent start disciplining a child," I would have to say "immediately." However, to answer the more specific question of "What measures of discipline should be administered to a child, and at what age" requires, just like the definition, a "set" of answers. In fact, if you look at Webster's definition closely, the answer is almost given in step-by-step format.

Birth to 6 months (mental and moral training): This is the parents prime opportunity to take control in the efforts to proper discipline. The child is going to learn how to behave based upon the actions taken by his/her parent. For instance, if a parent feeds a child each and every time he/she cries, then he/she will eventually learn that crying brings food. The same applies if the parent picks the child up each and every time a child cries. I'm not suggesting that you ignore a newborn infants cries, but its important to be sure to cover all bases before nurturing a desire instead of an actual need. For instance, checking the babies diaper, gently stroking his/her face in an effort to calm him/her, etc. These times are tricky however, because it is important that an infant receive sufficient love and nutrition. But, I assure you, as a parent you will pick up on cues and clues from your infant and know whether or not he/she is really hungry, needs a diaper change, or simply needs to be held. When you know that you are only doing these things to quiet the child and calm your own nerves, discipline may be looser than it needs to be.

6 18 months (obedience to rules): This is a time of exploration for the infant/toddler. He or she is learning how to react to various words, actions, facial expression, and other forms of body language that the parent and others express. The child learns the word "No" and begins to develop a fairly good idea of what it means. Therefore, what the parent does when a child ignores the exclamation,

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