Monday’s Parenting Thought
Children often misbehave as a way to get the attention that all human beings need. Therefore, discipline and attention are connected.
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When adults ignore misbehavior, children get no attention for their misbehavior. Therefore, the misbehavior may continue or even get worse in order to get attention.
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When adults punish misbehavior with too much emotion, children can be willing to put up with the
punishment to get the super-sized attention. Therefore, the misbehavior may continue or even get worse in order to get attention. -
When adults enforce rules and consequences in a matter-of-fact way, the children get only a little bit of attention with their punishment. They don’t see this as the best way to get attention, so the misbehavior is likely to stop.