They are dear to me, and I want to keep them alive and well. A recent column described the interaction between a young gorilla and its father, drawing parallels to human child-rearing. The young gorilla tormented its father. The father then immediately comforted the youngster. Actually, this is a textbook case of poor parenting.
Adults can encourage good behavior by rewarding it with their attention.
When unwanted behavior occurs, it needs to be stopped before the youngster derives a lot of fun from it. Stop now, or there will be some dire consequences. This will usually take care of things if the parent has consistently kept promises in the past. And the consequence should be a timeout or a suspension of privileges, not physical punishment. Comforting the child immediately after the punishment is confusing and it weakens the effect.