Trenton General's parents, Don and Tanyeil, were at their wit's end when their son brought home bad grades after repeatedly threatening punishment, reported "The New York Times." Finally, they resorted to public humiliation; they made Trenton wear a sandwich board displaying his bad report card on a busy street corner. Although certainly unique, not all parents will want to try such an outlandish disciplinary technique to get their kids in line. If your child is misbehaving and the age-old time out isn't working, unique child discipline techniques can get your child back on the right path.
Natural Consequences
You likely try and shield your child from the hard experiences of the world. If he performs badly in school, you might try and smooth things out with his teacher. If he is disrespectful to an elder, you likely try and make excuses. Instead of smoothing things out in public and disciplining in private, allow your child to suffer natural consequences for his actions instead of disciplining him. When he sees that bad behavior has repercussions in the real world, he's likely to shape up fast.
Positive Discipline
Positive discipline, which is endorsed by peaceful parenting enthusiasts, relies on positive reinforcement, trust and a general sense that your child is good. When your child misbehaves, positive discipline looks at the underlying reasons for the misbehavior--tiredness, loneliness, fright, misunderstanding or boredom, notes the University of Missouri. You then look for ways to help rectify the situation through apology, thought and retribution.
Task-Based
Giving your child a task to complete every time that she misbehaves is an interesting and effective way to discipline. Make a list that matches tasks and chores around the home to certain misdeeds. For instance, fighting with her brother could be equal to one load of laundry or cleaning the bathroom. Talking back might be equal to mowing the lawn. Post the list in the home, and your child will already know the consequences before she does the action.
Choose Your Own
Allowing your child or teen to assess his behavior and choose his own punishment can be an effective way to reform his behavior. Each time your child misbehaves, he chooses a method of discipline, and then runs the idea by you to make sure it's an acceptable punishment. In this way, his own conscience becomes the disciplinary figure in his life, hopefully reforming his behavior for good.
Removal of Attention
Most children misbehave because they crave attention; some even feel like any attention--even negative attention--is desirable. So when your child acts out and purposely misbehaves, removing your attention from her can be the most effective disciplinary technique of all. In ignoring the behavior, she loses the entire purpose of misbehaving--your attention. Then, pay extra attention to her when she is behaving well, to reinforce the conditions of your attention.
