I think the majority of people only associate the word discipline with the idea of punishment. However, did you know that the word discipline actually comes from the Latin word “disciplina” which means teaching, training or education?
As a noun, discipline means to have an established set of guidelines, rules and is a branch of knowledge. As a verb, discipline means to train and guide. Discipline=Teaching
Be consistent!! That I can not reiterate enough! Be consistent with your discipline: setting rules, guidelines, training, practice, instruction and teaching your child. This will help them develop behavioral patterns which will help them to respect and listen to authority (parents especially). Affective discipline will help to create other behavioral patterns such as self-control, well-behaved traits/manners, strength, and perseverance.
Here is an easy example of what discipline can look like:
- Today, I exercised discipline by having my child put a toy up every time he wanted another toy to play with.
- When my child threw a tantrum, for not wanting to put a toy away, I told him that discipline means meaningful respect for his room, his toys, and the rules set by his loving parents.
- After 20 minutes of my child refusing to put a specific toy away, I showed love by being patient, firm and consistent. Here is how that looked.
- I didn’t lose my temper with all his crying, whining and tantrum throwing.
- Once I saw that he was calmer, I showed him how to put his toy away.
- Next I put the toy away. Then I brought the toy to him for us to put away together.
- Last, I brought the toy to him and let him put it away followed by praise.
- This one learned behaviour may help your child once they are a teenager to keep their room clean and organizedJ
- I never hit and always try to model by example through control of my own emotions. Discipline is also the ability to control your own behavior.
- Disciplined behavioral traits will take your time and patience to teach. However, in the long run it will be easier as they will put these learned behaviours into place automatically.
More to come in further posts…