If your children start arguing or yelling, refer to the information on Self-Control . Parents consistently tell us this is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle. Sometimes kids misbehave so often that parents respond angrily, or the behavior is so annoying that parents react abruptly or negatively. You are much more likely to be effective. Stick to one issue.
Most kids are masters at getting parents sidetracked.
Let your children know that if they really want to talk about other topics, they can bring them up after the main issue is resolved. Provide a chance to earn something back. If your child is attentive and works to make up for the misbehavior, and you are pleased with the attempt, don't hesitate to give some part of the consequence back. For example, during Corrective Teaching, you took away one hour of TV time because your son and daughter were arguing. After you finished, both of the children apologized and said they would work together to clean the dishes.