Thursday, January 27, 2011

Avoiding the major battles

Now most of parents would say you have to discipline when children get out of line or won't listen. You set boundaries and limits for everything to help them grow up and learn to have the basic skills when it comes to dealing with people and the public as a whole. I know they are watching how I handle myself with people and how I react to situations. Most people want their kids to grow up to be polite, kind to others, considerate and caring. I'm sure most people grow up with those key things but I find some parents who constantly freak out and swear at their kids when they do something they don't like. I have seen someone tell their kid to come with them and they said no. The parent grabbed the kid by the arm and said lets go. The kid was hitting and yelling at his dad and he dragged him inside. I don't agree with this because it doesn't teach the kid anything about how to behave and reason why the are being asked to come inside.

I told the girls last Saturday before we went outside that we can go out and play but they have to listen and if they don't we will go inside if they are not behaving. They both agreed and I had no problems. I also told them I was shoveling the driveway and when I'm done I will play in the snow with them but we will have to go in to get warm if it gets too cold. They asked to go in and I didn't have to tell them twice. I set the guidelines early before we went outside so we were all on the same page but find some people don't. You are going to run into problems when you don't set the guidelines early. It is just a fact.

The easiest way to make an outing enjoyable for the whole family is to discuss what you expect and what might happen if the kids don't behave. They will know the boundaries and you will have a better time knowing that you have the control over the outcome of the activity. If they are bad you can leave but if they are good, you can reward them for a great time out with something simple like an ice cream cone or candy from the bulk barn. Doesn't cost you more than $5 bucks and they will remember that they will be rewarded for being good. Like training your puppy, if you do it enough times they will remember and you can stop with the reward because they will do it because it will be out of habit and not for reward.

Cheers!!

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