Methods of Child Discipline

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Because the beliefs, education and cultures of people vary so much, along with the age of the child, methods of child discipline vary widely. The topic of child discipline involves a wide range of fields such as parenting, behavioural analysis, developmental psychology, social work and various religious perspectives. Advances in the understanding of parenting have provided a background of theoretical understanding and practical understanding of the effectiveness of parenting methods. The word discipline is defined as imparting knowledge and skill, to teach. Discipline is used by parents to teach their children the correct way to behave. They need to be given constant discipline to be taught right and wrong and it can involve rewards and punishments to teach self control and increase desirable behaviors and decrease undesirable behaviour. Though the purpose of child discipline is to develop desirable behaviour and social habits, the ultimate goal is to create sound judgement and morals so that the child develops and maintains self disciple throughout the rest of their lives. In western society, there has been debate in recent years over the use of corporal punishment for children in general, and increased attention has been given to the concept of "positive parenting" where good behavior is encouraged and rewarded Contrary to popular belief, corporal punishment is still an accepted form of punishment in some countries. In these countries, many see this kind of punishment for children as normal, natural and harmless. Yet, human rights activists believe that it is damaging and must be stopped. For example, Gambian teachers are working to end corporal punishment. The Gambia Teachers' Union has been training teachers on alternative... ... middle of paper ... ...orce the good behaviour with rewards and decrease the likelihood of negative behaviour being repeated. The structured discipline of both parents and teachers help the child to appreciate that good behaviour is much more beneficial than bad behaviour but without this structure in one or both of these settings, could lead to the child not understanding, leading to it being much more difficult to correct behaviour that isn't wanted without resorting to drastic measures of physical or psychological punishment that would do more harm than good. Further research into helping the children in these sort of circumstances would be much more beneficial to the topic of child behaviour and punishment. Works Cited How to Use Positive Reinforcement to Address Child Behavior Problems - Ways to Effectively Promote Good Behavior By Amy Morin www.parents.com/kids/discipline

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