How Can I Teach My Child About Rules?

When a child is born a parent will only have to cope with crying, feeding and diaper changing. There are occasional earaches that cause more crying, but for the most part a new baby is smooth sailing. There are no dilemmas that form from trying to teach children about rules and order. Over time, however, children go from crawling to walking. They have to learn the ways of the world. They have to learn about what is right and what is wrong. Parents who has never tried teaching a child before may be conflicted about how they can do it. The information below provides the best ways to teach a child about rules.

 

Discipline

The first that you must learn is the effectiveness of discipline. No child is going to see the logic in refraining from something if there is no disciplining for misbehavior. A child cannot simply be told that something is wrong. There has to be some consequence for doing what is wrong. This may fall in the form of spanking. At other times it may be a time out. Every parent has different ways to discipline a child. What a parent must do is find the way that is going to be the most effective.

 

Providing Examples

There are times where children have not broken rules. They may be aware that certain rules exist, but they may not know about the consequences of breaking rules. This is where it becomes a good idea to provide examples. A child that is getting on a ride in an amusement park, for example, may not have the ability to visualize what could possibly go wrong if they fail to buckle their seats. What a parent can do at this moment is provide an example of what might happen if the child fails to obey the rules. He could get asked to come off the ride. The child could fall off of the ride and get hurt. The parent may even have an example of a time where they witnessed someone getting hurt on a ride because they did not obey the rules. Child are much more likely to remember to do something if they have visuals of the consequences associated with their failure to obey.

 

Acknowledgements

Sometimes children want to do what is pleasing to their parents. They may be more motivated to continue following the rules if they actually have someone that acknowledges them. Children like to be commended for following the rules sometimes. They like to know that they are doing a good job with following the rules. When they are encouraged to do well they will continue to make good decisions. For example, you limit the gaming time of your child to 2 hours. And after 2 hours, your child automatically switches off his favorite Clash of Clans game. As a parent, you should acknowledge his good self-discipline so that he is being assured that he did the right thing.

 

Parents should not spend all of their time trying to enforce the rules without taking some time to praise children for doing right. If they can be punished for breaking the rules they have to be acknowledged for following the rules sometimes. This can make a really big difference in how they build values.