All My Children

It may be better for your child to play with one or two quieter children at home, rather than with a gang of noisy youngsters elsewhere. This will often help a timid child to gain fresh confidence, and there may be less tendency for him to develop unfavorable traits of character. If parents would take more interest in the training of their children, they would have far less cause for anxiety during the years of adolescence.

When older children tell lies, it is usually because they are unable to meet the competition of their associates at school and the family at home. There may be little you can do about the school, but you can do something about the home situation. Growing youngsters often are exposed to unfair criticism from their parents when there may be no reason for this. Many a child has done his best in school, even though his examination re‑sults may not always show it. Everyone cannot be at the top of his class. And of those who do make top marks, not all are successful in later life. Hence it is far more important for your child to have a balanced outlook on life than to have the highest grades in the class. He may be more normal and eventually more productive than the brilliant one. Continue Reading »

Children Conscience and Punishment

The first thing to realise about juvenile delinquency is that it’s not one type of misbehaviour but an overall term for everything for which an adolescent may be haled into court, from parking offences to murder. It’s as if everything that an adult could do wrong were called adult turpitude, a label which would certainly hinder rather than aid the understanding of different types of adult offences. The reason why all juvenile offences have been lumped together has been to get young people into special courts where, it was hoped, their difficulties could be understood and dealt with constructively rather than punitively; if they had to be removed temporarily from society, they would not be jailed with confirmed adult criminals but placed in rehabilitation institutions. Continue Reading »

Physical punishment (specifically, disciplinary spanking) is a tool that can be useful in specific circumstances. However, some voices in our culture condemn all spanking, based on claims that it teaches violence, perpetuates abuse, damages a child’s dignity, and doesn’t change behavior. These criticisms are valid for abusive forms of corporal punishment such as slapping, kicking, beating, and in cases of spanking when it is used excessively or inappropriately, such as when representing an expression of anger and frustration, causing injury.

But when utilized with appropriate guidelines, spanking can and should be neither abusive nor damaging to a child’s physical or emotional well-being. With toddlers and preschoolers, a controlled swat on the behind may be appropriate to bring a confrontation to a timely conclusion. A disciplinary spanking should be administered only in response to an episode of willful defiance characterized by a clear, appropriate parental directive that the child understands and is capable of following; a direct challenge from the child, especially with a disrespectful or hostile tone; or persistent and blatant refusal to cooperate. Continue Reading »