When it comes to discipline, Parents Ask expert Elizabeth Pantley, author of The No-Cry Discipline Solution explains the importance of teaching the same lessons over and over again:

You’ve tried to get your little one to put his toys away. . . but he rarely does. You’re after your daughter constantly not to whine . . .  yet that screechy voice continues. You repeatedly attempt to get your children to share their toys nicely . . .yet it seems that daily you’re refereeing an argument. No matter what you do, the same issues keep coming up over and over again. Frustrating as this may be, it is normal human behavior.



Think about something that you do, or don’t do – that you know you should do differently. Perhaps it’s exercising or eating healthily. Maybe it’s keeping your desk organized or your closet clean. Perhaps it’s staying calm when you are stuck in traffic. In all of these examples it’s likely that you struggle to always do the right thing, even when you know what the right thing is. So, if you, the mature adult, still don’t do everything the right way how could you possibly expect such a feat from your young child?



Discipline means to teach – and it is a very rare lesson that can be learned in one simple session. Furthermore, young children cannot easily apply what they’ve learned in one situation to another. So even minor variations create entirely new scenarios – for example, learning to share toys with a sibling at home isn’t easily transposed to the situation of sharing playground equipment with a friend at the park.



What this all means is that you must teach the same, or similar, lessons over and over and over and over again in many different ways until, perhaps, your child will master the idea and claim it as his own. Even then, just because a child knows what is right doesn’t mean he will always do the right thing. (Do you always drive the posted speed limit???) Our job as parents is to help our children learn right from wrong, and how to make the right decisions in life. It is to guide and teach our children, every day, in many ways, though daily, and sometimes hourly, lessons.

How do you discipline? How do you stay consistent and teach your children? Share your thoughts here!

See Also:

-Is it Okay to Discipline Other People's Kids?

-Time Out: More Harm Than Good?

-Punishing Your Children: Techniques