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Mistakes Parents Make

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Did you know that you may be your own worst enemy when it comes to parenting? Dr. Hiam G. Ginott (2003) has labeled seven common parenting patterns as self-defeating. Not only do these patterns fail to help us reach our end goals, but they create chaos in our homes, and undesirable behavior in our children. “These self-defeating patterns include threats, bribes, promises, sarcasm, verbal overkill, sermons on lying and stealing, and rude teaching of politeness” (Ginott, 2003, p. 59). Let’s discuss each pattern in more detail. Threats Have you ever used the phrase, “if you do that one more time, I’m going to (fill in the blank)” when trying to get your child to stop what he is doing? How’d that work for you? If your child is anything like mine, they probably turned around and did the exact thing you told them not to. You see, “to children, threats are invitations to repeat a forbidden act” (Ginott, 2003 p. 59). Your child failed to hear the “if you” all he heard was “do that
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Avoiding Harsh Discipline

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In a recent policy statement titled, “Effective Discipline to Raise Healthy Children,” the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that parents use positive discipline strategies to teach good behavior instead of punishing bad behavior. They condoned the use of harsh disciplines such as physical punishment and verbal abuse as research shows it does more harm than good.   Image courtesy of “What’s the Best Way to Discipline My Child?” (2018) Never Use Physical Punishment The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry defines physical punishment as “anything [that is] done to cause pain or discomfort in response to your child’s behaviors” (2019). This includes: spanking, hitting, slapping, pinching, and forcing the ingestion of unpleasant substances such as soap and hot sauce.   According to Steinberg (2004), “physical punishment is no more effective than other types of punishment – in fact, in many situations, it is less effective – and it has been pr
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