Childhood is a time of joy, surprises, achieving milestones and growing up. But this happy time is also when unsuspecting parents are first introduced to the hair-raising, ear-splitting and stomach-churning world of tantrums.

Although raising a child comes with no guarantee labels, if parents acquire the skills of positive ways to discipline their toddler, it would go a long way in shaping the child’s personality for the better.

The average toddler hears the word “No” about 400 times a day! Usually, limited knowledge of positive discipline methods is one of the major reasons that parents resort to ineffective and sometimes, harmful ways to correct their children.

Most parents confuse discipline with being unpleasant or giving punishment. The purpose of discipline is positive - to help your child be free from faults and handicaps, and achieve his maximum potential.

What then is punishment?
Pooja, mother of three-year-old Anu, tries to ignore her daughter when she throws tantrums. But when things go out of hand, Pooja locks Anu in the bathroom till her tantrum subsides. Pooja says Anu stops crying now at the mere threat being locked up.

Punishment is any type of behavior used to control the child. A parent could physically punish a child by slapping, beating, or verbally punish by ridiculing, or using cruel words to instill obedience. Such behavior can, at best, stop misbehavior temporarily but cannot accomplish the long-term goal of teaching the child self-control.

Children thereby learn the following lessons: “Those who love you the most are also those who hit you; it is right to hit those you are closest to; it is okay to hit people who are smaller than you and violence is okay when other things don't work”. It goes without saying that children raised with such values usually turn out self-destructive or aggressive.

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