From the desk of our Chaplain Miss Simone…

DISCIPLINE is not a dirty word: you can guide AND love your child  

Attitudes and beliefs around discipline have changed drastically (thankfully) since I was a child and have continued to evolve since I parented young children but the goal of parenting, ‘to raise children to become mature, responsible and contributing adult members of society’, has not changed.

Chapman and Townsend, in their book, ‘The Five Love Languages of Children’ say training our children in their mind and character requires us as parents to use a wide range of strategies and communication methods, including “guidance by our example, modelling, verbal instruction, written requests, teaching right behaviour, correcting wrong behaviour, providing learning experiences, and much more”.

While discipline is often thought of negatively, the actual word Discipline comes from a Greek word that means ‘to train’.  

How do you train and discipline your child or children? How effective are your methods for each child?  

There is never going to be a one size fits all approach to parenting or discipline that works for every child, as each has been created with their own unique personality, temperament and quirks. As parents we need to discover how our children tick and how best we can love and train them. Understanding their love language and ensuring that their ‘love tank’ is full will go a long way to helping us connect and positively correct and guide them as needed.  

Check out Carina’s previous blog on, ‘The love languages of children’, read the book above mentioned book (Find it here at Koorong) or watch this interview with the author Dr. Gary Chapman How to speak your child’s love language. Learning from our mistakes and being able to forgive ourselves and be gracious (as God is with us) can help us to keep growing and moving forward positively. Parenting is the most important job you will ever have and it is time limited. You get 936 weeks from the day your child is born until they turn eighteen and while each week may feel long now, the years will go fast….I pray that you will draw from God’s wisdom, patience and love to make them count.