The mission of the Logan City School District is to ensure all students leave our schools ready to create a positive future for themselves and their community.

Frank Schofield, superintendent, Logan City School District

Children live in a rapidly changing world. The challenges and opportunities children experience are subtly different from those their parents faced, and they often make mistakes as they navigate the challenges of growing up. At those times, moms and dads are often faced with the need to choose disciplinary approaches that teach important lessons to their children while preserving and strengthening the parent-child relationship.

One useful approach to achieving these outcomes is through positive discipline. As described by Dana Beckstrom, licensed marriage and family therapist, positive discipline focuses on treating children with respect so that they mirror this respectful attitude with others. It helps children develop healthy self esteem as well as learn the important social and life skills that will help them become respectful, responsible, resourceful members of their communities. The foundation of positive discipline is built upon five key criteria that are necessary for parents to effectively discipline their child:

  1. Teach your child a sense of importance and belonging by fostering his or her sense of connection to others.
  2. Be both firm and kind at the same time. Discipline should be encouraging and respectful for both parent and child.
  3. For discipline to be effective in the long term, you must consider your children’s feelings. What are they thinking, learning and ultimately deciding about themselves?
  4. Teach necessary social and life skills that help your child learn how to solve problems and show concern and respect for others.
  5. Encourage your children to discover their own capabilities by allowing them a sense of autonomy.

Each of these criteria teaches children necessary things about themselves and how to deal with their feelings in a positive way. That, in turn, strengthens the relationship between child and parent, which allows disciplinary conversations to occur with less stress and potential emotional damage.

These principles of positive discipline can be applied through a variety of specific techniques. As parents thoughtfully consider how they will apply these principles in their own homes, they will be better able to choose the specific disciplinary strategies they will use. The effective combination of principles and strategies will strengthen the parent/child relationship and allow parents to teach their children essential lessons needed to succeed now and in the future.

Reference: Beckstrom, D. “Can Positive Discipline Help Your Child?” counselingtoyou.com/positive-parenting.html