Disciplining a child is one of the most important roles of a parent, and perhaps one of the most difficult, but healthy discipline is part of a comforting family environment. Effective positive discipline at home provides a foundation for self-discipline throughout life. It helps your child grow up to be happy and well-adjusted. Effective and positive discipline teaches and guides children. It doesn’t just force them to obey.

How children should be disciplined depends on their age, stage of development, personality and many other factors, but there are some basic principles to help guide parents. 

It is strongly discouraged to use physical punishment on children, including spanking.

The word Disipline sounds negative, but used properly it is a very positive thing in your child's life. What are the goals of discipline?

• protects your child from danger. 
• helps your child learn self-control and self-discipline. 
• helps your child develop a sense of responsibility. 
• helps instill values. 
 

Respect 
Children should be able to respect their parents' authority and also the rights of other people. Discipline that’s harsh, such as name-calling, shouting and humiliating, will make it difficult for a child to respect and trust an elder. Positive discipline will result in polite and responsible young people.

Consistency
Discipline that’s not consistent is confusing to children, no matter how old they are. Inconsistency, such as sometimes giving in to tantrums, can also reward children for these unwanted behaviours and make it more likely that they will be repeated. This is negative disciplining.

Fairness
Children need to see discipline as being fair. The consequences of their actions should be related to their behaviour. If your child throws food on the floor, make sure he helps you clean up the mess. Make sure it is cleaned up before he does something else. When the mess is cleaned up, the consequence is over. 

You
As a parent, you have a unique bond with your child. If you teach your child discipline with respect, and make sure that it’s consistent and fair, you’ll have lasting positive effects on your child. 

How can parents prevent behaviour problems?

Give your child many opportunities for physical activity and exercise. Some children need to run off some of their energy. I know - mine needs it!

Give your child choices about what to do. He will appreciate the chance to make decisions. But do limit on the choices to 2 to 3 things - to many will over load the child.

Instead of saying “No”, give her something more interesting to do. This is called distraction or redirection. For example, if she is climbing a tree, you can say “Come and play on the monkeybars.” 

Make sure your child has toys that are right for his age. Toys for young children should be simple. Limit on how many you give them - it can overwhelm them. 

Become familiar with behaviour that is appropriate for your child’s age. 

Children 2 years of age and younger have trouble remembering and understanding rules. (a.k.a. Terrible Twos!!!)

Prioritize the rules that you do make. Give top priority to 1. safety, then to 2. correcting behaviour that harms people and property, then onto behaviour such as 3. whining, temper tantrums and interrupting. Concentrate on two or three rules at first. 

If your child is tired and cranky, be understanding and calm to help her settle down. This is especially important before naps or bedtime. Having a short quiet time (with no activity) can prevent bad and irritating behaviour. Know what your child has been doing during the day. If they have been very activity, overly excited, they will have issues close to the end of the day (being tired as the result)

Don't nitpick on the child. Focus of the larger more important picture of safety and behaviour.

Tactics

The Time-Out - Good for Ages: 3-9. 

Use it sparingly, for "whatever you consider to be the most serious discipline situations with your child." Time-out works well when children are hitting, damaging possessions, or engaging in unacceptable acts of aggression. The "timing" of time-out is critical: Adhere to the "minute per age" rule (a five-year-old gets a five minute time-out). You can also choose to give toys a time-out, if a child is throwing them, or give a child's mouth a time-out if he or she is swearing or saying something hurtful.

Why It Works: When you remove children from a situation involving others, you deprive them of attention and a chance to be where the action is. This allows them to think of their behaviour and how they can improve it.

It doesn't when it's overused. Time out doesn't work for problems like whining or "forgetting" to pick up your toys because cause and effect are not so clear. 

Choose a toy-free location that's away from other people, Don't use a child's bedroom as a time-out zone, assuming there are books or toys or other amusements to keep him or her happy.   
 

Charting - Good for Ages: 4-12. 

Keeping a chart, with stickers or stars to mark behavioral improvements, works well with chronic problems like whining or messy rooms. Charting teaches delayed gratification, "that you don't automatically get things because you're cute, but because you earned it and waited for it." In terms of effectiveness, charts and time-outs are polar opposites: Time-out doesn't work when you use it all the time, while charts never work unless you do!

A chart is a "visual cue" for kids; they don't just hear complaints or praise, they can actually see change. It's a way to get them involved in the discipline strategy; they can help make the chart or perhaps choose a reward.

Keeping a chart can be a difficult task for kids with attention difficulties; lots of parental involvement is needed. Parents also need to assess their own schedules; if you start a chart and don't have time to keep it up, it undercuts the message that behavioral change is important. Focus on just one behavior problem at a time.
 

Logical Consequences - Good for Ages: 6 and up. 

Try this when a child "forgets" , to do something.In a nutshell, a logical consequence is the process of discovering that if you don't eat, you will become hungry. Grades will fall if homework is not completed; the house will smell if the litter box isn't changed.

It allows children to learn firsthand what will (or will not) happen as a result of their actions (or inactions.) Using a logical consequences approach to discipline eliminates power struggles between parents and kids by keeping the focus on the child's behavior ("I see you forgot to clean the kitty litter tray again, Susan. Gee, maybe tomorrow we'll relocate it to your room since the smell apparently doesn't bother you.")

A child caught playing with matches shouldn't be encouraged to experience the logical consequence of getting burned.
 
 

House Rules - Good for Ages: 4 and up. 

House rules are an effective, pro-active strategy when children know what the rules are, and what will happen if they are broken. Example: It's a house rule that homework has to be done before the TV goes on. If the homework's not done, you lose TV privileges for a set amount of time.

It eliminates the need for parents to think on their feet, by making expectations within the household very clear and consistent. It also gives kids a chance to voice their opinions about what the rules should be and how they should be applied. Many families post house rules in a prominent place in the household.

House rules fail to improve behavior when adults make them up arbitrarily, with little or no input from children, or when they fail to follow through. If parents ignore a broken curfew, for instance, house rules will cease to have any meaning and kids will ignore them.

What can parents do to promote good behaviour? 

• Spend time alone with your child each day. 
• Be comforting. Give your child hugs, cuddles or a gentle pat on the back. 
• If children are sad or angry, respect their feelings. Try to understand why they are sad or angry. 
• Do things that are fun. Laugh together. 
• If you make a promise, do your best to keep it. It is important that children trust their parents, and they will want you to trust them, too. 
• Always look for opportunities to praise your child for good behaviour.  (Visit the 101 ways to Praise your child)
 

Source/Reference: 
http://life.familyeducation.com/discipline/parenting/
www.parentmagic.com
 

This information should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your physician. There may be variations in treatment that your physician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.