Welcome to Mom Motivation Mondays where weekly contributing writers share their motherhood experiences to encourage you to find the joy in being a mom.

{This week: Post by Lisa}

Discipline strategies for kids under six. These make sense to kids and encourage positive behavior.

Helping my children work through defiance is one of the top five stresses of being a Stay At Home Mom.

Discipline is important work and somedays my approach goes well and other days not so well.  Sometimes what works for one child doesn’t work for the other.  There are so many ways to re-direct a child’s bad behavior.

We must keep in mind that whatever method of discipline we use, it should be one that empowers the child to strive to be the best they can be.   Discipline means to teach and it’s our responsibility to guide them in a manner that changes the heart, builds up confidence and encourages them to make good choices.

In younger children the three toughest behaviors are when children repeat bad behavior for attention, they don’t accept the answer “no”, and the biggest stressor of the day is when they don’t want to go to bed.

Following are discipline strategies that I used with my kids when they were under the age six. 

Discipline Strategies for Kids Under Six

 

Challenge- Repeats bad behavior for attention

Reward Positive Actions and Redirection

Children do better when they feel better about themselves.  It’s so important to catch them in the act of doing something kind, or working hard, or trying something new.  We can do this by praising them for what they did!

Children need more approval than disapproval to feel like what they do matters. They want to feel important and capable.

Strategy – Following are words that can be used to encourage kids to do what is right.

-“Wow, you really used your ten little fingers to help put the toys away!”

-“Look how your hug made your sister smile.”

-“You did it!”

-“Way to go, I knew you could do it!!”

-“Thank you for helping me….”

Example – For the three-year-old girl who hits her fourteen-month-old baby sister

-Gently go up to older sibling after she hits and gently take her hands into your hands.  Softy say “we don’t hit our baby.  That scares her and we don’t want to do that, do we?   We care for our baby and we need you to show her big sister love!!! 

-Gently touch baby and pick baby up to comfort.  Tell big sister, “Let’s give baby gentle touches.  (show her gentle touches) Can you give baby her stuffy and show her that she is safe with you?

– “Today you get to be my little helper!!!  Will you help me put away baby’s clothes and fold her wash cloths?”

 

Challenge – Child doesn’t like to be told, “No.”

Choose Battles Wisely and Give Choices

Life with young kids does not have to always be a battle.   There can be more fun times then stressful times.   Not everything that a kid does wrong needs to be nagged over.  Most of the time they are hungry for attention.   It’s up to us to decide what kind of attention we want to give them.

Strategy – I don’t usually make a big deal out of something unless it is harmful.  In other words, when my child wanted to wear his shirt backwards and did not let me change it.  I let it go.  It was not worth the fight.  Or when my child didn’t eat all his food I didn’t fuss over it.  I just didn’t give him sweet treats for the rest of day. 

Example – When child wants to wear shorts to the park on a cold day.

-You could say, “I know you like these shorts but Mr. Sunshine is hiding behind the clouds today and it is too cold.   But you could wear either your blue jeans or red jogging pants?

 

Challenge – Child wants to play instead of go to bed.

Routine

It’s hard to imagine life without a clock, isn’t it?   We use time to manage our comings and goings.  It’s hard to plan and having a schedule is often the base of our own sense of security.

Kids are no different than us and not being able to tell time is frustrating to them.  They need to know what’s next and this helps them feel secure.  We provide them a sense of control when we follow a consistent routine that they can anticipate and depend on.

Most kids don’t just go with the flow without showing anxiety.   We all need structure with lots of margin time. It’s not fair to expect kids to just jump right up from what they are doing and move on to the next thing without closure.

A five-minute warning shows respect towards kids.    They can’t respect our time if they don’t know what is next.   Without routine life, can be confusing.

Strategy – Quiet time before bed

-It’s always a mistake to expect a child to go to sleep right after wild play or eating. 

-After pajamas are on and teeth are brushed read books for twenty minutes.  This helps them calm down and feel connected.

-Snuggle and listen to quiet music for a bit and then say a little prayer.   This brings closure that little ones need before they go to sleep.

Every parent has to adjust to their child’s temperaments. The beauty of parenting is that we each have a unique way of directing our kids.

There is no formula. When we take time to meet the child where they are at we can show them the way to go.

And moms remember you are your child’s best teacher.  No one knows your kids better then you do.

A weekly series of motivation for moms brought to you by stay at home mom bloggers at The Stay-at-Home Mom Survival Guide.

What are the major stressors when it comes to your child’s behavior right now? 

Discipline strategies for kids under six. These make sense to kids and encourage positive behavior.


Wanted: Mom Friends! Lisa Brown from COmmunity Moms blog shares how she felt when she became a new mom and did not have a support system in place. This is great advice for moms whether new or experienced!Lisa is an aspiring writer with a mother’s passion for Homeschool Education. She has an 8 yr. old son, a 7 yr. old daughter, and has been married to her husband for 10+ yrs. Prior to marriage, she worked over 20 yrs. enriching the lives of hundreds of children and families. Lisa has a Bachelors in Social Work and Early Childhood Education.  You can read more of Lisa’s posts on her blog – http://thefamilyroadmap.com/