As a parent you know how difficult it is to control your child at times. When your kid simply does not want to hear you out, and decides to throw a tantrum, it seems that there is nothing you can do apart from giving up. However, this is not the way to go about it. Your child is not going to be disciplined if you react in such a way. And you need to avoid giving in to their demands from an early age, as otherwise you cannot expect to have them unlearn this attitude in the future.
Threats are not going to work that well either. Deep down your little one knows that you love them and chances are that you will not hand out the dreadful punishment you are threatening them with. So, how can you go about disciplining your child? Here are some quirky discipline rules which actually can work.
Set a rule for yourself
As you surely know it is often useless to make a rule and expect kids to act according to it. So to solve the problem why not set a rule that applies to you personally and then your kids will have to accept it. For instance, you can set a specific time where you will not do anything at all other than resting a bit. This can work wonders when it is late, and close to bedtime. Your child will develop a consciousness of time and put up with the rule more easily.
Putting a stop to rudeness
Something many parents cannot stand is rudeness, especially when they are in public. To stop your child from being rude, whine, or scream, you have to avoid shouting back at them. Rather, remain calm and just let them know that unless they speak politely and quietly you cannot understand what they have to say. Since the child will feel empowered because you are stating and accepting that they need to tell you something, they are going to calm down a bit. In time they will get used to being more polite and stop dramatizing.
Avoid haggling
Teach your kids that they will get whatever they get and there will be no haggling as to who gets what. This is an important rule if you have more than one child and you often end up with debates and quarrels about trivial things.
Where to go
There are several occasions when you just cannot stand the indescribable noise your kids manage to produce. All you need is some peace and quiet. However, it is difficult to make your kid shut up or keep the music low, or stop singing. The list goes on and on as wherever there are kids there is bound to be noise. However, you deserve some quiet time right? What you can do, rather than shouting at your kids to shut up, is to have them go somewhere else. They can keep doing whatever they were doing in a place where they will not bother you. They can go to another room, upstairs or downstairs, in the yard or garden. Obviously, wherever you decide to have them go make sure they are safe.
The Purchasing rule
A common problem when you go shopping with your kids is that often they want to buy something. At times it is something cheap or useful, and so you buy it for them. But there are going to be several times where they demand something that is costly or useless. Rather than having your child throw a tantrum or keep sulking because you do not want to buy it, set a rule that stipulates that you will not be arguing about money or purchases. You will answer yes or no, and they have to agree with your decision without arguing. Repetition is the key here.
Let us work together!
A common scenario is when you need to work and your child simply can’t stop bugging you. Your child runs around, asks countless questions, makes demands, and simply frustrates you – the result – you cannot seem to manage to finish any task with them acting like a complete nuisance. A good rule to solve this problem is to tell your kids that as long as they are in the same room with you, they are going to have to help you in one way or another. So you will not allow them to bug you, but only help you. This might manage to make your kids collaborate with you. As a general rule of thumb they prefer to be with you, and so they are going to give in to help you. If they are not willing to do so they can just leave the room and you will be free to carry on with your work.
Boredom does not exist
Kids often complain that they are bored. Rather than making them frustrate you, teach them that boredom does not exist. Show them that there are countless way to entertain themselves. And in reality, if you help them to use their imagination from an early age they are going to benefit from it in many ways, even when they grow older.
