"DON'T SAY YES when you already said no"
Effective Discipline for Children and Teenagers

For the next six months this column will be devoted to topics targeting strategies for effective discipline.

Submitted by:
Barry Belt, Psychologist, Executive Director
Gretchen Lichtner, Neurofeedback Coordinator
Lee Picariello, Clinical Director
Attention Deficit Specialists

Many parents with children and teenagers have thrown up their hands, rolled their eyes and even lost emotional control when dealing with oppositional behavior at home and at school. Most parents love their children and want the best for them, but lack the skills to effectively discipline their children.

Why Do Children Misbehave?
Children do not misbehave without cause or reason. Children may misbehave to gain positive consequences or to escape form currently ongoing unpleasant, boring or effortful activities. Most of the activities we assign children to do, especially chores, are not very pleasant, require extended effort and require a children to stop what they are doing (especially something enjoyable) to perform an unpleasant activity.

What Are the Possible Causes of Misbehavior?
Some children are born with a certain predilection towards disruptive behavior. A child may have inherited predispositions toward intellectual delay, attention deficits, impulsivity, irritability, depression or anxiety. There is substantial evidence on the inherited nature of these disorders. Early in their development other children may manifest difficult temperaments that bring them into conflict with parents and teachers. Temperament refers to the child's activity level, attention span, emotionality, irritability, sociability and response to stimulation.

Requirements for Effective Discipline
Any behavior that is followed by a reward will be strengthened. A positive consequence is a reward or reinforcer. Without active reinforcement of positive behaviors no method of discipline or punishment will work. Generally, providing social reinforcers for positive behavior should be preferred over material reinforcers. In addition, rewards should be immediate after a child demonstrates appropriate behavior.

Inconsistency confuses a child. Consistent responses to behavior across different settings and situations is necessary. Moreover, consequences should be specific. For example, praise should clearly refer to targeted behaviors instead of being vague. It is usually best to work on one target behavior at a time. If the target behaviors are complex, shape behavior by breaking it down into small steps and reinforce each step until the desired behavior is demonstrated.

Our next column will focus on The Effective Use of Time-Out for Non-compliance.