Can children develop self-discipline?
‘’My child is so impulsive always acting without thinking’’ how can I help my child to develop self-discipline was the question a parent asked me.
She looked so worried wondering what to do. I had to reassure her that there was nothing wrong with her child, he was just acting his age and with the proper teaching and guidance, he can develop this skill. The irony of this is that even some adults have not yet mastered the art of self-discipline.
What exactly is self-discipline, this is the act of denying yourself or controlling your impulses to achieve a goal, it involves regulating your impulses, desires or actions for a greater good. An example is a teenager denying the impulse to play the video game for reading his school notes.
It is the desire of every parent to raise his or her child into an adult that is well behaved, responsible, self-disciplined and emotionally stable. So how can we help our children to develop this skill?
Below are a few tips on helping your child to develop self-discipline skills.
1) Provide proper structure for your child, this involves setting daily routines and schedules. This will teach the child to do the right things at the right time. Having routines helps children in regulating their basic physiological needs. It involves your teaching good habits.
2) Set healthy limits and boundaries, also have clearly defined expectations.
3) Encourage your child to start extra curriculum activities like sports, playing of musical instruments that teach self-discipline skills.
4) Be consistent in your teaching, you can reward your child as he/ she masters a certain goal also enforce the necessary consequences.
5) Set good examples, the most powerful influence you have on your child is by the examples you display, you also need to practice self-discipline and self-control as the parent.
Teaching your child about self-discipline is not about you controlling your child but about your child controlling himself. Children who learn self-discipline skills are equipped to make healthy choices in terms of friends, time, money, chores or schoolwork even when you are not there. They have learnt to manage stress and other life challenges. They are also better at managing their own emotions.
I remember when I was teaching a Junior class in a church in Lagos, I met a young boy who was able to manage his emotions so well that I had to ask him how he was able to do it, he told me that his dad had coached him on how to manage his emotions and on how to empathize with others.
Teaching your child self-discipline skills is one of the ways in making your parenting journey stress-free, you will do less of repeating your instructions and yelling because the child would be self-motivated to do what is right,
Just remember that children who have not been taught self-discipline end up becoming adults who do not have self-discipline and tend to struggle with time management, money management, employment and other responsibilities in general
Let’s do our part in teaching and guiding our[children right.
N.B Have you registered for our upcoming Online Class? Its starting on the 15th of October, 2019. Its a training you should not miss, we will be giving more tools on Emotional Intelligence, Positive Discipline ,Positive Communication and also we would be having accountability sessions and one free coaching session. Please click on the Link below to register. Investment is N15,000.
bit.ly/yellfreeparenting
Thank you, I would love to read about your experience in implementing these steps.
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