As stated in our earlier section on the basic principles of discipline, punishment is merely a tool at our disposal for disciplining children, not the goal of discipline itself. It’s also a rather ineffective tool when compared to other types of motivation and guidance. Still, punishment has its place in parenting. It’s a necessary evil, one that every parent will have to fall back on from time to time.

In order to use punishment effectively, it’s important for parents to understand both its uses and limitations. They need to understand when it will be effective versus when it’s actually counterproductive to their goals. The information in this chapter will help you accomplish this, so that your punishments are more effective and actually work to change a child’s behavior.

Information on punishment:

• The uses of punishment
• The limitations of punishment
• The pitfalls and problems with punishment
• Children punishing their parents

Spanking, corporal discipline, and harmful forms of punishment

• Physical discipline and corporal punishment
• Spanking children
• What spanking and physical discipline does to children
• Other harmful or inappropriate forms of punishment

How to punish children/Punishment techniques:

• How to punish your children effectively
• Punishment tips
• Different ways of punishing children
• Additional punishment techniques
• Grounding children

See also: Discipline techniques