From the article: Top Time-Out Spots
Ideally, child discipline is not so much a matter of punishment as of teaching a child the way to behave. Some children with special needs require an extraordinary degree of creativity from parents looking to show the way. Have you found some child discipline techniques that work wonders for your special child? We can all use an idea or two -- clue us in! Share Your Secret
discipline that works
- I atttended a training at a conference a few years back. A behaviorist by the name of Alice Bellgrade suggested that if your child refuses to do a task(that you know that they are capable of doing)that you 1) make sure that you are maintaining eye contact even if you have to gently hold their chin and direct their eye contact at you. The "Nanny" would add that you have to put yourself on their level - physically. 2) Ask the child a second time and be sure that you are concrete and that you are providing simple verbal or sign instructions. I frequently combine the two myself. Now here is the hard part. Look off in to a corner of the room and do not say anything. Allow up to 10 minutes for the child to complete the task. Meanwhile hold your ground and do not make any faces but just remain calm. If after 10 minutes your child still refuses to do the task you can ask them and show them again then repeat the look off in to the corner of the room. Be patient - it works!
- —DaLifeCoach
The parking lot
- I use a lot of different techniques but what is quick and easy to share is this: when you lack time and patience for your child's request and you know that he will get upset if you don't agree to his wishes, then I put his request in the "parking lot." The parking lot is just a sheet of paper on the wall in our home, likely near the door as many of the tantrums start there, just before you try to leave the house. I drew a picture of a car and just put his request on the paper with a blank checkbox next to what I wrote and told him that he would get to do it later. Writing it down seemed to validate his feelings and immediately quelled any possible tantrums headed our way. He was also happy to check off the box when he was given the opportunity to fulfill his request afterwards. I think it also helps my child to learn to delayed gratification -- an issue with which he struggles daily.
- —canmombecalm
Child discipline
- If you can reframe your traditional thoughts about discipline (e.g. = punish until they will never do that again) it becomes easier to think of consequences. Is talking over the problem and identifying what went wrong, apologizing, and making some sort or reparation a consequence? You bet it is! And a good one too, as the child is able to process through what happened. Many times, after talking about the incident, I will ask my son or daughter what they think the consequence should be, and they respond often with a consequence much more harsh than I would.
- —Guest debfjeld
Pennys
- I use two cups, one with a sad face and one with a happy face. When my son behaves well or hells out, he gets a penny in the happy face. When he behaves poorly, such as hitting the dog or lying, a penny goes back to the sad face. When 100 pennies add up -- and they add up quickly, about a week or so -- we go to the dollar store and he gets to pick out a treat. He loves to pay for it. He earned it. It works for me.
- —Guest flyfree67
