There will probably always be a great deal of debate over the right and wrong way to discipline kids. Each parent has their own ideas and their own past experiences to draw upon and what you may do may not be the same as what your neighbor does when it come to discipline. However, there are acceptable and effective ways to discipline kids to teach them right from wrong.

Should You Spank Your Kids?

When you consider whether or not you should spank your kids, ask yourself whether or not you would like to be spanked when you do something wrong. How embarrassed would you be? How humiliated would you be? Would you learn anything from it?

Spanking is not the answer – and it never was. Kids are human. They have thoughts, feelings, and opinions – just like you. They should be treated with the same dignity and respect that you expect from others for yourself.

Do Time-Outs Work for Kids?

Time outs work for younger children. The idea is to separate the child from the group or the activity, where they will sit quietly alone. This gives them the opportunity to think about what they have done wrong.

Some people say that time outs are ineffective because the child will not spend time thinking about what he or she has done wrong. This isn’t exactly true. The child wants to get back to what they were doing or having fun. While there will be more timeouts, your child has learned that there is a consequence for what they’ve just done wrong.

How Much Punishment is the Right Amount?

There does come a point in time when timeouts no longer work effectively for kids. The age of the child varies when this stops being effective, based on the child. When timeouts stop working, other forms of punishment should be used. Children can be sent to their rooms or denied certain privileges. Grounding works well for teenagers. Taking away beloved objects or amusement also works. These objects may include the television, video games, computers, telephones, or favorite pastimes.

The point of any type of punishment should be to teach the child that he or she has done something that is unacceptable, and that this action should not be repeated. Kids will be kids – and they may repeat the action two or three more times before they get the picture, but if they are treated with respect and dignity, they do indeed eventually learn right from wrong.