As adults, many times we punish our children so that they learn the lesson, the question is: does that punishment change the behavior?.
According to my experience as a teacher and father, I can tell you that punishment as an instrument of behavior modification generally creates fear, anger, rebellion and increases conflicts; On the other hand, discipline infuses respect, shows them what they have done wrong, guides them to the solution of the conflict and keeps their dignity intact.
Children deserve respect, they interpret our actions as much or more than our words, so it is necessary that our actions be respectful and responsible, they will understand that sharing our love or anger with them is part of the teachings that we transmit, let's be guided by love and integrity so we can give these messages to our children"the future generation"
A strategy that works well enough is to give them the option of choosing, without forgetting that there are limits, the intention is that they are able to make decisions, even those that are not so successful, and unless they put them at risk, it is good to allow them experience the real consequences of their mistakes and bad decisions. Once the consequence has been agreed upon, it is our responsibility to ensure that it is carried out without breaking, and not allowing ourselves to be manipulated, in this way we are incorporating discipline.
The discipline guides the children, provides them with structure and contributes to forge the character, and they learn it through their experiences and example, we are therefore congruent between what we say and what we do, they observe us.
Finally, it is important that children experience reasonable consequences of their actions, this will help them to progressively exercise a positive control of their lives, to learn to make decisions and to solve conflicts, remember that we are forming responsible citizens for life, and if we want to a better world, educate with love.
