Giggle, Grin & Discipline

Contrary to popular belief, disciplining is not about punishment, scolding and pulling angry faces. It can be a fun thing, which can help strengthen the bond between you and your child. Follow our guide to cheery, silly discipline, and watch your child blooming while he learns to behave himself. You’re welcome!

- Shanda Luyt

Although disciplining children is a serious matter, its application can be fun…

The secret to disciplining without stress is to discipline your child with humour and play – then both of you will eventually feel better about it, says American psychologist Larry Cohen, author of Playful Parenting (Ballantine Books). According to Larry the bond between parent and child is the most important role player in disciplining children.

One of the reasons why humour works so well in discipline is because it usually surprises your little one, or catches him off guard, which means he’s immediately more receptive for what it is that you’d like to teach him. As parenting guru Dr William Sears says: Humour opens little ears and brains. It’s an easy way to capture your child’s attention.

By using play and humour to work with your child, you’re working on his level, because children get to explore and learn to understand their feelings through play. Humour also helps your child to communicate with you in a more relaxed way and to better absorb new concepts and remember them for longer.

What’s more, humour creates a special bond between parent and child, which in the long run ensures a relationship in which your child is more open to learn about the boundaries you set. With humour you prevent many a power battle and defuse conflict situations without requiring an outburst, fight or punishment. Everyone reacts better to humour than to aggression.

So be creative and use your sense of humour when you discipline your child. It means you’ll have to think on your feet, but the more you practise it and the more you’re successful, the easier and more fun it will become!

BE SMART WITH HUMOUR