A child that doesn’t behave well or refuses to do the right thing in school or at home is labelled as a “Stubborn child”.
In most African countries, a child who behaves wrongly is usually treated with physical and intense punishment.
Researches have shown that constant beating of a child doesn’t guarantee improvement in behaviour. Some people even found that children will get used to the constant beating and see no reason to change.
Medically, it’s proven that the brain conditions the body to adapt to changes., The same way the brain conditions the body to adapt to other situations, it conditions the body to adapt to beating., When beating is introduced to a child and if becomes constant, the body of the child will adapt to it and will reach a point where it no longer sees the beating as threats.
Most parents see beating and other physical punishments as the most effective and fastest way of disciplining a child. This constant beating barely does any good to them. It in fact has the tendency to affect children’s behavior negatively for a long time .
Children who are constantly hit tend to develop aggressive behaviors, violent attitudes in school and at home among their peers and siblings. They also tend to have bad mental health and cognitive problems.
Beating a child regularly does no good for anyone, but adapting a good and effective method of disciplining a child as a parent or teacher, will not only be good for them, but also develop and prepare them for a great future.
Let’s look at 5 Effective methods of disciplining your child without constant beating;
Tell them about what the consequences of their actions will be
Telling them about and explaining the consequences of their actions will restrain your child from making bad decisions. For example, if you tell your child that if she doesn’t pack her toys, she won’t get to play with them the next day. That enough can propel the child to do the right thing by packing up the toys. A child wouldn’t want to risk not playing with her toys. Remember, while explaining the consequences of their actions not to be harsh on them, just be calm and firmly explain it to them. A child who is treated with harshness grows up to be harsh.
Give them accolades for their positive behaviour
As adults, we love to be praised when we do the right things, and children feel the same way . When your child does something good or brings a good result home, always reward them, by buying nice things for them or saying nice things to them. By doing this, you are letting them know you acknowledge their positive behaviour and thereby encouraging them to do more good things and not relent.
Divert bad behaviour
The saying “an idle mind is a devil’s workshop” also applies to children. When a child is left alone, doing nothing sometimes makes the child misbehave. Prevent misbehaviour by finding something else to occupy your child.
Take advantage of what they love most
Taking advantage of what your child loves most is an effective way of disciplining your child. For example, if your child loves video games, seizing the pads used in playing video games will make the child regret his actions and also reflect on their behaviour. In a situation like this, remember, not to give the pads of the video games back until you see a positive behaviour in them.
Make them learn from mistakes
As an adult, you have made some regrettable mistakes. Telling your children about those mistakes and making them learn from them will make them prepared if they find themselves in such situations. Your child can also learn from his mistakes, too. Pointing out their mistakes to them and making them see what is wrong in what they did will stop them from repeating such mistakes.
Handling kids can be difficult, and we understand that, but being harsh, shouting at them or beating them is not the solution. Try the tips explained in this write-up, and you’ll be pleased with how your children would turn out to be.
