Does a Baby Need Discipline?
Discipline with a child is usually about testing boundaries; the boundaries of what they are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to do. If they do not like the answer, they protest and test again; and again. If the boundary they are trying to break gives way easily, it encourages them to go back and do it again.
If the boundary holds firm, with a consistent parent being calmly unbending, then the baby or infant will give up…..eventually. Patience and consistency are vital to the discipline, otherwise the baby will become confused; they will not learn what is acceptable and what is not, if one day you give into their protests, and on another day they do not.
In the example above, the baby has successfully used tears to get their way against the parent’s better judgement. Bath and bed time have been delayed, with a two fold result. Firstly, she will not sleep at the time that is best for her, and she will become crotchety and over tired, and cry even louder with the next attempt to put her to bed. Secondly, her success at preventing the bath will bolster her for next time; she has learnt that yelling will get her own way.
About a decade ago, while I still lived in the UK, there was a study into teenagers, to find out what it was they most needed to make their lives happier and better. More than half said they really wanted more discipline; yes, “wanted”.
Discipline has been allowed to evaporate across some western societies, with a result that teenagers have felt that there is an absence of necessary discipline in their lives. However, there is no need to allow your baby to become just one more in the statistics of undisciplined children.
Does a baby need discipline? In my opinion, and based on my own experience, the answer is a resounding “yes”.
If the boundary holds firm, with a consistent parent being calmly unbending, then the baby or infant will give up…..eventually. Patience and consistency are vital to the discipline, otherwise the baby will become confused; they will not learn what is acceptable and what is not, if one day you give into their protests, and on another day they do not.
In the example above, the baby has successfully used tears to get their way against the parent’s better judgement. Bath and bed time have been delayed, with a two fold result. Firstly, she will not sleep at the time that is best for her, and she will become crotchety and over tired, and cry even louder with the next attempt to put her to bed. Secondly, her success at preventing the bath will bolster her for next time; she has learnt that yelling will get her own way.
About a decade ago, while I still lived in the UK, there was a study into teenagers, to find out what it was they most needed to make their lives happier and better. More than half said they really wanted more discipline; yes, “wanted”.
Discipline has been allowed to evaporate across some western societies, with a result that teenagers have felt that there is an absence of necessary discipline in their lives. However, there is no need to allow your baby to become just one more in the statistics of undisciplined children.
Does a baby need discipline? In my opinion, and based on my own experience, the answer is a resounding “yes”.
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