When it comes to discipline, most parents have the best interest of their children at heart with good intentions. But lets face it, no parent is perfect. Every parent makes mistakes. I think that most parents make the same mistake in one way or another. It is easy to get frustrated and overwhelmed when the kids are fighting, having a temper tantrum, or being uncooperative. The mistake that so many parents make is that they forget to truly talk the situation out. They may yell and threat some sort of punishment or even spank the child or children without talking about what is going on.

Siblings have been known to fight from the Bible times and it still happens today. Parents need to help their children learn to problem solve. Conflicts will arise with every relationship a person will ever have in his or her lifetime. Teach your children to learn from each other about resolving conflicts, forgiving each other and moving on. Sometimes they do need to be separated, but make sure to help them come back together and talk it out.

As for temper tantrums and children being uncooperative, parents should talk to their children ahead of time before the situation even starts. If you are taking a trip to the store, talk to your child about having good behavior and set up a rewards system. A great reward system that I have found to be successful is the "good manners frog" in which you draw or print out a frog that has ten speckles. The child's goal is to fill up each speckle with stickers for a reward by having good manners.This is a great way to reward your children without spending too much money as promising an ice cream cone each day can get costly. Be sure you explain your expectations for good behavior for earning a sticker and remind the children before your trip to the store that if they listen to mommy and use big boy/big girl words and don't throw a fit they will get a sticker for their frogs. If during your outing they start to misbehave, gently remind them about how they really want to earn a sticker for their frog.

As I said before, I believe the biggest mistake that parents make is not talking to their children about the conflicts that arise. If parents would take a few extra minutes to talk it out, they just might see an improvement in behavior and conflict resolution.

Learn more about this author, Sabrina Schleiger.
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