Child discipline

Refuse a punishment. Yeah, I tried that once. And I still remember the result to this day.

I eagerly await the time that young mustardgirl or mustardboy refuse one of thier punishments. I'm quite certain it will be a learning experience. I'm equally certain I won't have to worry about it more than once.

 

Amen. ;D

 

I'd just like to add that those pack and fucking play things DO NOT fold up that easily.

Man was I glad when my kid outgrew that thing.

Thank you.

 

King,

I don't know much about parenting, because I'm 23 and cross the street when a child under 12 is approaching. But my old roommate has a 10-year-old, who sounds like your child. Good kid, good grades, smart, honest, all those good things. He's got a good heart. But he doesn't listen. EVER. You can tell him to stop doing something 10 times, and he's still doing it.

His dad I'm sure will tell you the two biggest mistakes he's made. He spoiled him. He let him get off easy. Now he's 10 and out of control. And now the punishments are much, much more severe, because the kid is a world away from where he should be.

I understand why. You love your kid. You want your kid to love you. And I'm sure there's nothing harder for a parent than hearing their 7-year-old kid tell them, "I hate you." But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

 

Mine involved being 8 years old and refusing to stand in the corner for a 15-minute timeout. For about a month after my refusal, my mom would just look at me and I'd sprint to the corner.

 

"Timeout" -- a method of punishment that should be banned from the parental handbook.

 

i once gave my mom some lip out on the street in front of her friends. my dad came home, threw his newspaper on the couch, looked at me and said firmly, "i never want to get a report like that again."

i wished he had beaten me instead. the notion that i had disappointed him was much worse than a spanking.


oh, and i NEVER had a tv in my room. neither do any of my sons. for whatever that's worth.

 

Just wondering (and I know you're going to take this as an indictment, so DON'T!) ... do you have children?

 

It's very effective. You don't remember standing there with your nose in a corner, your legs killing you and all you wanted to do is move. ... But if you did, your ass got cut? There wasn't a more terrible punishment than being in timeout. Send me to my room -- sure I'll read. Take my video games -- I'll find something other to do. Make me do chores -- at least I'm staying busy. Stand me in a corner for an hour with my nose in the wall and with nothing but my wits to keep me going. That was punishment.

 

When you're 10 (8, 7, pick an age), standing still is total hell.
My son is 3 1/2 and when I make him sit with his hands on his knees and staring directly into my eyes for a solid minute or two, it's like purchasing a half day of good behavior.

 

Timeout, like any other punishment, can be effective or ineffective depending on the situation and the way it's applied.

 

That makes sense.

I told my daughter that first thing in the morning, I'd have the mulch outside and broom ready to go for her. She actually said, "OK." For that little redhead, it was a slightly startling moment. No argument, no whining, nothing. I looked at my wife, and she had a puzzled look like, "Who was that child?"