The way you discipline your child should be based on their age and what’s appropriate. Punishing a 13-year-old with a timeout doesn’t make much sense, neither does grounding a two-year-old for drawing on their bedroom wall with permanent marker. Setting rules and disciplining your child should be totally dependant on their age and their understanding of the situation they’ve gotten themselves into.

Here is a list of discipline guidelines set out by the American Academy of Family Physicians:

Positive reinforcement

Focusing on good behaviour, instead of bad behaviour. A great way to give your child some positive reinforcement is to pay attention to them when they are behaving badly.

Use on children ages:

  • Birth to 18 months
  • 18 Months to 3 Years
  • 4 to 12 Years
  • 13 to 16 Years

Alter their behaviour

This technique involves basically redirecting your child’s actions so they adopt more appropriate behaviour for the future.

Use on children ages:

  • Birth to 18 months
  • 18 Months to 3 Years
  • 4 to 12 Years

Explanation/Instructions

Take the time to go over what it is you want your child to do and how you can help them make better choices moving forward.

Use on children ages:

  • 18 Months to 3 Years
  • 4 to 12 Years
  • 13 to 16 Years

Give them a time out

These timeouts will physically remove your child from a problem situation. Put them in a neutral area, such as a corner of a room, and ignore them until they are settled down. Most timeouts should only last a few minutes.

Use on children ages:

  • 18 Months to 3 Years
  • 4 to 12 Years

Set Rules

Establish a set of rules for your child to follow and repeat them until they learn to follow them on their own.

Use on children ages:

  • 4 to 12 Years
  • 13 to 16 Years

Grounding/Discipline

This is an effective move with school-age children or teenagers. Some parents ground their children by restricting them to their home or room for a certain amount of time.

Use on children ages:

  • 4 to 12 Years
  • 13 to 16 Years

Refusing Privileges

Restrict them from social events, or from their favourite activities like video games or television. Your child should know these privileges need to be earned with good behaviour.

Use on children ages:

  • 4 to 12 Years
  • 13 to 16 Years