Disciplining a Child: How to Set the Limits

For any parent, disciplining his child is never easy. Disciplining goes against the natural instinct of a parent to give his child anything and everything that he wants. But it should be done, no matter how hard it is. Discipline means setting the limits for your child’s actions and attitude. Follow this guide to help you establish correct and consistent limits for discipline.

• Decide on how you want your child to behave toward you and other people. From this, make simple rules that your child will have no problem following to the letter.
• Let your child learn the rules in a steady, manageable pace. Do not attempt to make them learn all the rules in a single sitting; remember that children have short attention spans. Make them learn 3-5 rules at a time, and make sure that they learn them well before moving on to the next set of rules.
• Tell stories that apply the rules and lessons that you have given. This will make it easier for your child to relate to what you’re teaching and to understand the value of the rules you’ve given them.
• Ask your friends and relatives to join in on the discipline game. Your child will learn to deal with rules quickly if there are more people teaching it to him or reminding him to follow them.