The best discipline for a young child

Alanna Levine, MD Pediatrician & Author, shares advice for parents on the best and most effective ways to discipline your young child
Best Ways to Discipline a Young Child
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The best discipline for a young child

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When choosing a consequence for a misbehavior, you really want to keep in mind how severe the misbehavior was. So for instance if your child refuses to clear their plate at the end of a meal, you don't want to take away the trip to grandma's house on the weekend. First of all, that punishment is way out of line for not clearing their plate. In addition to which, it's not really related to the plate clearing. So something more appropriate might be, if you don't clear your plate and I need to clear your plate for you, then I'm taking time out of my evening, which means I'm not going to have time to read you a story before you go to bed. That way they understand that our family is a community and we all need to work together to achieve the goal of getting everybody ready for bed in the evening times. When giving a consequence, you also need to make sure it's a consequence you can follow through with. So if grandma was supposed to be the babysitter this weekend, and you've now just taken away the trip to grandma's house, you're either a) going to have go back on your word or b) come up with another babysitter. So if you can small repeatable consequences in your back pocket so in that moment of frustration you're ready to go with one of them, that's going to be a lot easier for you to actually follow through.

Alanna Levine, MD Pediatrician & Author, shares advice for parents on the best and most effective ways to discipline your young child

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Alanna Levine, MD

Pediatrician & Author

Dr. Alanna Levine is a New York-based pediatrician and a mom of two children.  As a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Levine frequently appears on television and in print speaking about breaking medical news and common parenting topics.  Dr. Levine is also a contributor for BabyCenter.com, on the board of advisors for GetSweaty.com, and on the executive committee for the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on Communications and Media.Dr. Levine sees patients at Orangetown Pediatric Associates in New York and is on staff at Nyack Hospital and Englewood Hospital and Medical Center.   She completed her internship and residency at the Mount Sinai Hospital, received her medical degree at Sackler School of Medicine in Tel Aviv, Israel, a master’s degree in medical sciences from Boston University, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin.

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Transcription: 
When choosing a consequence for a misbehavior, you really want to keep in mind how severe the misbehavior was. So for instance if your child refuses to clear their plate at the end of a meal, you don't want to take away the trip to grandma's house on the weekend. First of all, that punishment is way out of line for not clearing their plate. In addition to which, it's not really related to the plate clearing. So something more appropriate might be, if you don't clear your plate and I need to clear your plate for you, then I'm taking time out of my evening, which means I'm not going to have time to read you a story before you go to bed. That way they understand that our family is a community and we all need to work together to achieve the goal of getting everybody ready for bed in the evening times. When giving a consequence, you also need to make sure it's a consequence you can follow through with. So if grandma was supposed to be the babysitter this weekend, and you've now just taken away the trip to grandma's house, you're either a) going to have go back on your word or b) come up with another babysitter. So if you can small repeatable consequences in your back pocket so in that moment of frustration you're ready to go with one of them, that's going to be a lot easier for you to actually follow through.