Reasoning with a child and including the child in developing a solution often makes the outcome successful. Have a Few Simple Rules Decide what the most important rules for your family should be, such as no fighting, be kind and respectful, no sassing or whining, speaking in a respectful voice. Have a consequence for not following the rule. Having no rules or too many rules or having the child guess or negotiate the rules each day is not appropriate. Children feel more secure when they know what is expected of them.
Parents can be more consistent when they have thought out what they want to happen.
Use Routines Have a usual time for meals, bedtime, waking up, doing chores and doing homework. Routines help families run more smoothly and prevent discipline problems. Involve your child in decisions such as the clothes they wear, family activities, and assignment of family chores. There are times where you may wish to decide what the child s choice of options will be, for example whether they wish to take out the garbage or walk the dog. Making all of their decisions for them or arguing about their choices is not constructive.