Positive Discipline – for Parents of Elementary School Kids

By: Linda Sorkin, L.M.F.T and teen life coach with Soul Empowered Coaching.
As parents we ultimately want our children to be held accountable for their actions. We want them to take responsibility for what they do right and wrong as well as learn from the choices they make. We want them to grow into self-empowered, self-esteemed and healthy functioning adults in all their affairs! And we know it all starts in childhood, which begins with positive parenting! The Kid Pointz program supports us parents while instilling self-motivated accountability with our children. 5 key parenting tips on how to hold your kids accountable:

Article by Linda Sorkin, L.M.F.T, with Soul Empowered Coaching
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD / ADD) is a well known diagnosis given to kids, and even adults, who exhibit symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity or impulsivity. It is also disputed by many professionals as an over diagnosed condition. Independent of the controversies, raising children who are high energy, easily distracted and impulsive on instinct, whether or not labeled ADHD, is challenging for almost any parent. For purposes of this article, when the term ADHD is used, I am referring to BOTH kids with the medical diagnosis and those hyper energetic kids who have not been diagnosed by a qualified doctor. The following, according the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) are examples of such common challenging behaviors parents may experience with ADHD.

By: Linda Sorkin, LMFT and Teen Life Coach with Soul Empowered Coaching
Studies in self-esteem show that having a high esteem is the number one ingredient for having a happy, fulfilled, productive and successful life. When you feel good about yourself it is easier to navigate through challenging moments in life. However, what makes one child have high self-esteem and another doubt themselves and feel they will never amount to anything?

Just about every parent around has at least a few complaints about their kids when it comes to getting chores done and being responsible. It seems like it kind of comes with the territory of being a kid! But kids and parents alike can benefit from getting kids involved in actively doing chores and being responsible. It's just a matter of putting it all into action and keeping it going!

Rules are everywhere. They help to keep some sort of order in society and encourage people to engage in desired behavior. The same goes for families. Within every family, there are rules, and while they may vary from family to family, the one thing that remains constant is that they all have them. You probably have rules in your family as well, even if you aren't so sure what they are yet!

Many parents who struggle with their child's behavior often find that they have ineffective punishment. But that's because punishment in and of itself is often not all that effective. To punish someone, by definition, is to make them feel pain. Whereas, discipline is about teaching kids better behavior. If you can master the latter, you will be on the right path to effectively dealing with undesired behaviors in children.

Every parent needs the secret to improving behavior with their children. Often that comes in the form of rewards and consequences. While most parents realize this, they may not always know the most effective way to go about using this system to their advantage. If you can master the art of using a consequence and reward system for kids, you will have the ultimate tool in helping to teach your child and shape their behavior. Start by learning the step-by-step approach below, getting useful tools like reward charts, and then choose your resource for parenting products and educational toys.

Every parent wants their child to have respect. Going about getting them to show it can, at times, be a challenge, even for the most patient of parents. Grade school kids are often striving to show a little independence. They will at times talk back in a disrespectful way to try to get it, making this is a good age to start laying the foundation for positive parenting and respectful years to come. Getting kids to show respect is more than just an issue at home, although that is where it starts. They need to be respectful with their teachers, coaches, other parents, or even when dining out. Learning to be respectful is a skill that can help them for a lifetime.

Kids charts have been used by parents for a great many years to help them with their children. Kids charts include a variety of charts which parents can use to incent children to use good behavior and develop better habits. Charts such as chore charts, goal charts, and behavior charts are just a few of the charts available to print for free.

Have you ever heard the line "do as I say, not as I do," or said it to your child? There is a good chance that you were either told it as a child, or you have said it to yours. And if you are like most parents, you probably haven't given much thought as to how effective modeling behavior can be.