Category Archives: Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Parental Disciplinary Practices andthe Ways Children Learn Background “Children are to be seen and not heard.” “Spare the rod and spoil the child.” Such slogans have guided parenting across the ages and were thought by many to contain … Continue reading →

  How Parents Discipline Their Children Approaches Parents Use Parents coming to the clinic where I practiced routinely completed a family questionnaire and some time ago I did a study of the answers related to my work. When asked, “How … Continue reading →

Things We Know About Punishment 1.  Punishment is best at teaching what not to do. If a child is pulling the cat’s tail and you yell loudly enough or spank hard enough, the child will likely stop, at least for … Continue reading →

What We Know About Punishment (continued) 6.  Punishment often actually increases behaviors it is meant to diminish. Frequently I have had a parent come into my office and say something like: Joshua pinched his little sister hard enough to leave … Continue reading →

Ways Children Learn In reaction to harsh approaches to discipline, some parents in recent decades moved to the other extreme, allowing their children great freedom and expecting little from them. Now there is even professional training on how to treat … Continue reading →

Ways Children Learn (continued) Consequences of Behavior In the last few decades, a lot has been written about the impact on children from the consequences of how they behave. In the 1960’s many people allowed children to experience the natural … Continue reading →

Toward More Effective Discipline To reach the goal of teaching children to take more complete responsibility for their own behavior, we must understand how responsibility is learned. Discipline is central to this process. Therefore it is essential that we start … Continue reading →