Modern Parenting: Punishment-Free Discipline for Kids - Essay Sample

Introduction

Punishing children that misbehave was prevalent during the olden days, but this form of discipline is not held with high regard today. Most parents are using the more natural way out to discipline their children. The society has also forced a plethora of schools to discard punishment as a form of discipline and adopt other ineffective methods. Most parents prefer to capture their kids' hearts as opposed to punishing them. Parents prefer empathizing with their children so that they can take responsibility for their actions and learn from them (Yeager, 2004, p.4). It creates an emotional bond, which creates a platform for a strong relationship between the parents and their children (Burgess, 2017, p. 7)). However, this strategy is not effective, since, in the modern era, it is easier for a child to talk back at a grown-up or argue with their parents whenever they have a misunderstanding. Although most people do not acknowledge it, punishment is the best way to instill good behavior in children.

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Children Learn their Expectations

Consistency is essential when disciplining a child (Scottsdale, 2019). When children are growing, they are trying to figure out the world. They cannot tell what's right and what's wrong. It is the stage where the parent has to step in and guide their child on a righteous path. The type of discipline that they will use will determine the kind of person that their child grows up to be. Punishment will help the child understand that their parents are seriously desire to eliminate certain peculiar habits and behaviors. The child is more likely to concentrate if they get punished whenever they break the rules. The child will learn that specific actions have specific consequences. If the parent is consistent with this rule, the child will know that some behaviors are intolerable. The child will grow up knowing the importance of obeying rules and the consequences of breaking them. This mentality will be part of the child's personality until they grow up where they will be held accountable to the regulations of the government.

It is Quick, Simple and Transmits the Right Message

Punishment is quick and does not require a lot of time to administer (Ipatenco, 2019). Trying to capture the kid's heart is time-consuming because it involves a series of processes. First, the parent is forced to create an environment that is calm so that the child can open up. The parent will then try to convince the child to open up and talk to them in an attempt to try and understand why the child is acting in such a manner. It is a strenuous process, and it downgrades the primary essence of discipline. However, punishment is instant. The parent does not have to think twice about disciplining their child, which has a more significant impact compared to talking to them. Also, the child will learn to associate punishment with bad behavior. The child will learn that whenever they do something wrong, they will get disciplined immediately.

Punishment is also very simple and sends a vivid message that a particular behavior is unacceptable. Most children cannot reason, and they do not know what is acceptable and what is not. Trying to appeal to their hearts does not work because the child does not take their behavior to be a serious matter. Also, if the consequence is not severe, there are chances that the child will repeat the same mistake twice. However, most children can associate punishment with a specific action, which will ensure that the child does not repeat the same action in the future. Punishment is the best way to keep the child in line, and it will ensure that they do not repeat the same mistake twice.

The Child Will Figure Out Their Feelings

The main reason why children portray bad behaviors is that they are experiencing specific feelings that they cannot express (Ipatenco, 2019). Parents can use punishment to educate the child on how to handle these feelings. When children are growing up, they are at a stage where a lot of things are happening in society, and they cannot comprehend what is happening. Most children pick up specific bad behaviors from society, and they express them at home in front of their parents. Trying to capture the kid's heart is not effective because this method is all about allowing the child to open up. The child will not learn what it means to take responsibility.

In addition, the child will not understand how bad their behaviors are because the parent is more concerned about trying to figure out where the child picked up the bad habit other than trying to prevent it. However, using specific forms of punishment like timeouts makes the behavior unacceptable. Timeouts are very common, which gives the child a mental break from the actions causing bad behavior. Parents are required to speak to their children and understand the specific situations which cause bad behaviors. The parents should then use timeouts as a form of punishment to ensure that the child has sufficient follow-up time. Speaking to the child before the actual punishments allows the parent to understand the child's feelings and guide them. It will enable the child to learn from the punishment and know what causes bad behavior, and develop specific solutions on how to prevent bad behavior in the future.

Mistakes Lead to Lessons

Punishment allows the kid to understand that the parent is in charge, and they are the ones who set the rules (Ipatenco, 2019). It will enable the child to have boundaries, especially with the way they conduct and address their parents because they have learned the importance of discipline (Ipatenco, 2019). Punishment allows children to get essential life skills that guide them when they are growing up. Most children feel guilty when they break the rules, and punishing them can ease the guilty. It will teach the child how to avoid specific situations in the future. For example, punishing a child by taking away their toys will make them more responsible. The child will learn to take care of their toys, or they will risk losing them.

It is contrary to capturing the kid's heart because this method will only make them more irresponsible. When parents get used to talking to their child as a form of punishment, the child becomes ignorant because of the parent's leniency. Most children even take advantage of their parents because they know that the consequence of their actions is not severe (O'Donnell, 2019). For example, if a child breaks a toy and the parent tries to talk to the child by explaining how this is bad behavior, it will not have the same effect as taking away their other toys. When children learn from their mistakes through punishments, it allows them to become well-behaved and take responsibility for their actions.

Makes Them Better Students

Education is essential, and every parent's dream is to ensure sure that their child goes to college. Punishment is an excellent way to ensure that a child becomes a better student. For example, grounding a child by taking away specific things like video games might make the child excel in school. It provides ultimatums with which the child will have to work hard in school so that they can get back these privileges. It also allows the child to understand the specific consequences of failing in school. Appealing to the child's heart is not the best strategy to use, especially if the child is failing in school. Sometimes talking to the child is not an effective strategy because if the child does not want to work hard in school, there isn't anything that a teacher or a parent can tell them to give them the zeal to work hard. However, punishing a child whenever they fail might make them work hard because they know that they might get punished if they fail any exam.

Conclusion

In conclusion, children should be disciplined whenever they make a mistake. The type of discipline that a parent uses will determine the kind of person the child becomes. Most parents are skeptical about using punishment as a form of discipline, but it is the right strategy to use to ensure that the child has good behaviors. However, most parents should limit themselves when they are disciplining their children. Physical and corporal punishment involving canning a child severely until they bleed gets considered illegal and morally unacceptable. It results in a child's emotional and mental disorders that might have an adverse negative effect on their lives. All parents should punish their children because it will make them more responsible.

Work Cited

Burgess, Stephanie L. "The Impact of Capturing Kids' Hearts on New Teachers' Perceptions of Classroom Management." (2017).

Ipatenco, Sara. "The Advantages Of Punishing Children For Bad Behavior | Livestrong.Com." LIVESTRONG.COM, 2019, https://www.livestrong.com/article/129582-advantages-punishing-children-bad-behavior/.

O'Donnell, Lauren M. "Disciplining Your Child (For Parents) - Kidshealth." Kidshealth.Org, 2019, https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/discipline.html.

Scottsdale, Brenda. "How To Deal With A Misbehaving 5-Year-Old Livestrong.Com". LIVESTRONG.COM, 2019, https://www.livestrong.com/article/502794-how-to-deal-with-a-misbehaving-5-year-old/.

Yeager Jr, Walter Lee. The effect of the Capturing Kids' Hearts staff development program in fostering positive teacher-student relationships at Jane Long Middle School in Bryan ISD. Diss. Texas A&M University, 2004.