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Discipline: What works, what doesn’t
What’s the best form of discipline? People told me that what works for
one child won’t necessarily work for another child and that seems to be
true. While a severe look and tone of voice will reduce our middle child
to tears, our oldest seems intent on pushing us to the breaking point.
The baby of the family is just shy of 3 years old and while she is
testing the waters, she pretty much does what she’s told to do.Our middle child is 5 years old and has been the easiest child ever
since the day he was born. He hardly cried, he didn’t fuss
when I weaned him, he was easy to potty train – the list goes on. Our
oldest is 8 and he has required some extra effort in all things.
Lately he seems to be taking the whole “testing mom’s patience” thing to
the breaking point.
So while a time out on the stairs works for the two youngest, our oldest
seems impervious to discipline. We’ve taken away desserts and all
treats, video games, computer time (except as needed for schoolwork),
riding his bike and other fun things. We’ve done the time-outs and I’ve
even resorted to the occasional paddling. While it stops the behavior in
that moment, it seems like the next day (and sometimes the same day!)
he’ll repeat the offending behavior. So how do you discipline a child
who, on the face of things, doesn’t seem to care about the punishment
and is intent on committing the crime anyway?
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