Discipline and Parenting Techniques

There are several techniques I have used as a dad when it comes to discipline or basic parenting. I have mixed up some of these techniques to see which ones I feel work best. When my children feel down in the dumps or upset about something my techniques vary according to age, situation, and gender, so it is a parenting call you have to wager. Honestly I don’t think through a lot of what I do as thoroughly as I should. But I am getting better at dealing with situations more patiently and trying to spend less time reacting when I should be proactive and alert.

Here are some things I have tried in the past:

1) The attitude of “suck it up and deal with it” approach which is on the same lines as “Get over it, you’ll live.”
2) There is the less harsh approach of “I understand your situation but crying about it isn’t gonna fix it.”
3) Sometimes I have used the “I feel that way too but do you see me crying about it?”
4) Then there is the “Come sit over here and tell me about it” approach.

I think I am going to break this topic up into several blog posts over the course of the week. I think first off I want to get your feedback on some of the parenting techniques you use or are aware of. It can be for anything, sad kids, mad kids, bad kids, happy kids, etc. Then we can discuss which ones we find work and which ones sort of backfire on us.

So feel free to comment on some of the techniques and reactions used during some of our heaviest disciplinary moments.