Child Discipline Is Not Old Fashioned
Discipline has to do with training oneself or someone to follow particular laid-down rules or principles. Life of discipline has a lot to save in the lives of people and the community; if a child is well-mannered, he will know how to behave not only at home but also in the outside world. The world we live in today is in a lot of mess because so many people grow up lacking the basic discipline that is needed.
The subject of discipline is wide, and what one parent may see as a good way of correcting his child may be different from another. Some parents believe in the use of a cane to instill discipline, and others do not go along with that. Personally, the amount of discipline that is given to children should vary according to their age. When a sucking child intentionally bites the mother's nipples in the process of sucking, the mother knows how to talk to him or her so as not to repeat such again.
If it becomes more frequent, as some children will bite and just be looking at the mother's face to know the reaction, then you can add a little spank.I do have three children staying with me, one of whom is a teenager and the other two are still below six. The teenage boy gets it more easily with me because he is grown to an extent; from his parents house, there is already a pattern that his parents gave to him, which I am finding difficult to unlock, coupled with his stage, which is so delicate. At his age, he in many ways has a mind of his own and wants to do things the way it suits him and at his own time.
The highest discipline I have is to ask him to kneel down, hands up, and close his eyes. Using a cane is not my thing, though I have told him I will do that severally, but I am just feeling a kind of restriction. What I also do is seat him down and talk to him at times. The talking works, and at other times it seems as if I just gave him power to do more. In fact, at this stage it becomes more dicey, and I feel that the whole reality story my husband and I are dishing out to him will be clearer as he progresses in life because at this time the only thing that he does well is in relation to eating, playing, and sleeping.
Coming to the younger kids, a day came when I went ahead to introduce cane to the house. I made sure to keep it where everyone can see it; once in a very long time, I bring it down and then use it on the defaulter, so for a long time, any time you mention using a cane, there is a corporation. Most times I feel that the cane instilled obedience is not so good because the child tends to do what he wishes to do when he is out of your sight. Now, going back to sermons, they have been of great help to me. At times they get to ask you why they need to do what you ask them to do, and I take my time to explain to them.
From my belief system, I have also seen that prayer works so much, so it is part of my discipline schedule to ask them to pray at a particular time every day. I also remind them what their duties are as children of God. There are times they just adhere to what you are saying and other times they just slack over it.Just on Saturday I told them that from the next day, which was Sunday, there wouldn't be any watching of cartoons because exams were beginning on Monday.
Just yesterday, while we prayed for them to sleep, my boy was like, "Why do we pray that God should watch over them while Mom refused them from watching?" I couldn't laugh less; I had to take out some good time to explain the difference between the two words before he was calm and slept off.Discipline is a wide world that does have lots of approaches to it, and my method changes as the kids grow. Also, at times when they get used to a particular pattern, we get to improve or have a change too because this Gen Z generation does need more Gen Z skills to handle them so that things won't get out of hand totally.
If it's the place of defaulting again, they certainly will because children do have this short memory, and in most cases, it takes a long time before they can learn a thing, but I am sure that as they grow in age, they will flow with the system that is already laid down for them. According to Prov. 22.6- "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." This is one part of the scripture that gives me the courage to keep doing what I am doing, though others may not understand, but time will tell.
Thank you for stopping by my blog. My response to the first edition of this week's contest.
