Think Twice

The word discipline comes from a Latin root that means to guide or teach, not to punish.

What a child learns before age six lasts forever.

"When I started to treat my son the way I wanted to be treated, with dignity and respect, everything got easier."

"When I saw my daughter look in the mirror and say, 'bad girl,' I realized what I was doing."

" To get where we want to go with our children, we need to take a longer route, teaching them with our heads and hearts, rather than with our hands and belts."

- Penelope Leach, pediatrician and parent educator

Your actions today affect a lifetime.

Raising children is a challenge!
Here are some helpful tips and useful guidelines...

Why Think Twice?

Raising children takes time and effort, especially when it comes to disciplining.

We discipline our children to teach them how to behave, be safe and get along with other people. It's about guiding their behaviour, rather than forcing them to obey.

Disciplining children in ways that do not use physical punishment helps them grow into healthy, capable, and caring people.

What's wrong with using physical punishment?

Your child will learn that violence is a way to solve problems. It teaches that it's all right for big people to hit smaller people.
Hitting and slapping damages your child's self-respect.
Studies show that physical punishment increases the risk of children having aggressive behaviour, depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.
Physical punishment can lead to injury and abuse. It's easy to lose control and hurt someone when we are angry.

Click here for more information on Why Physical Punishment Doesn't Work.

Words can hurt too.

Yelling and screaming make your child feel humiliated and frightened.
Name-calling and put-downs can damage self-confidence. Children start to believe that they really are "no good" or "bad."

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Last Updated - Monday, May 15, 2006