Do you ever wonder if you're giving the right consequences? Perhaps you don't feel like it's having an effect on your child's behavior. And are natural consequences for children always the best thing? The experts at Empowering Parents explain the right way to give consequences to your child and teen—and the importance of giving rewards.
You can’t punish your child into better behavior. Forget about over-the-top punishments or ineffective rules because you'll just end up in a power struggle. The right consequences actually motivate your child to good behavior. They put you back in control and teach your child how to problem-solve, giving your child the skills needed to be... Read more »
Sometimes you just have to let your child fail. Parents often do their kids a disservice when they protect them from natural consequences, when they take over for their kids to ensure that their kids don’t fail. While it’s natural for parents to worry about failure, there are times when it can be productive for kids—and... Read more »
Does your child ignore every consequence you give him? James Lehman can help with 10 specific ways to make consequences work—even for the most resistant child. When kids are faced with something unpleasant, they'll often act like it doesn't matter to them. When your child says, “I don't care,” or seems unaffected when you give him... Read more »
Harsh punishments are not effective for improving a child's behavior. Instead, they only create resentment. If you punish your child too harshly, he will only be thinking about his anger toward you and not about the consequences of his actions. Harsh punishments will only lead him to think that you are unreasonable and unfair. Unfortunately, this... Read more »
What is the best consequence to use for a particular behavior? This is probably the most common question we receive during our online parent coaching sessions. Parents wonder which consequences to use, how to set them up effectively, and how long to give them. A great way to start figuring out the right consequences for your situation... Read more »
If you’re having trouble giving effective consequences to your teen, know that you are not alone. Many parents tell me that nothing seems to work, and that coming up with the right thing for their child can seem like an impossible task. If you’re the parent of an adolescent, you may have grounded your child, taken... Read more »
You hear that you should let your child face natural consequences, but what exactly does this mean? Many parents struggle with this concept because they don’t fully understand what constitutes a "natural" consequence. And sometimes parents have difficulty relinquishing control because they feel they always have to get their child to obey. I’ve talked to many... Read more »
Do you have a kid who doesn't care about consequences? If so, this dad's story probably sounds more than familiar to you: “I’ve done everything I can think of to get my teen to follow just the simple rules. I took away his Xbox. I unplugged the TV and removed the cord. The internet was shut off indefinitely (thank goodness I still have my... Read more »
Ever get stuck trying to give the right consequences to your young child or toddler? Remember, teaching accountability by giving consequences can start early, when your child is still small. In fact, it's one of the most important things you could ever teach them. The key is to do it in a manner appropriate for... Read more »
As parents, we know the importance of parenting from our principles, things like teaching our children to own up to their actions and face the fallout when they make poor choices. At Empowering Parents, our parenting programs stress the importance of using effective consequences as opposed to using punishments. But what, exactly, is the difference... Read more »
