Are You Disciplining Or Punishing Your Child ?
Punishment and discipline are two different approaches to correcting children’s misbehaviour and it is important that parents know the difference between them.
Here are four key differences between punishment and discipline:
1. Focus: Punishment focuses on the past behaviour, while discipline focuses on the future behaviour.
2. Goal: Punishment aims to stop the behaviour or make the child suffer for it, while discipline aims to help the child learn from their mistakes and make better choices in the future.
3. *Relationship: Punishment can damage the parent-child relationship, while discipline can strengthen it.
4. Effectiveness: Punishment can be effective in the short term, but it may not teach the child how to behave differently in the long term. Discipline can be more effective in the long term, as it teaches the child how to make better choices.
Overall, discipline is a more effective and positive way to teach children how to behave. It helps to build a strong relationship between parent and child and teaches children how to make good choices in the future.
Here is an example of how punishment and discipline can be used differently to address the same misbehaviour:
Misbehaviour: A child hits another child.
Punishment: The parent yells at the child and tells them to go to their room.
Discipline: The parent helps the child to understand why hitting is wrong and teaches them how to resolve conflict peacefully.
In the first example, the parent is using punishment to stop the child’s behaviour. However, the child may not learn why hitting is wrong or how to resolve conflict in a different way. In the second example, the parent is using discipline to help the child learn from their mistake and make better choices in the future.
Parents should strive to use discipline instead of punishment whenever possible. Discipline is more effective, builds a stronger relationship between the parent and child, and teaches children how to make good choices in the future.
By Parcsen Loke, Family Life Coach, Centre for Fathering.
Food for Thought: What is the difference between punishment and discipline? Which one do you think you are using more?