Punishment teaches children to stifle their feelings and often perpetuates a cycle of anger. Discipline without spanking, time-outs, or punishment means that misbehavior becomes a problem to be solved rather than a situation to be controlled. It assumes that we can engage our children s cooperation to understand the unfilled need or misperception causing the behavior. Instead of rushing to punishing, parents can talk with their children about the situation without attacking their character and they can express anger without insulting their children. It helps to use sentences that begin with I rather than You.
Teens get a bad rap.
Everyone agrees that children in the US are exposed to a great deal of violence and questionable values in the media. Parents can control the media in their homes by setting clear guidelines about media viewing and by not relying on the television or computer as a babysitter. We can also teach our children to be media literate by encouraging them to become critical viewers whom can recognize the subtleties of the language of persuasion. We re in a great period of educational experimentation and development. Millions of students are being educated in alternative schools.