Building Great Children
Positive Direction Methods for Discipline

• Establish a routine
• Smile (a whole lot!)
• Look for causes of problems
• Use private conferences with a child who is acting inappropriately
• Get to know each child and how he/she “ticks”
• Encourage children to use words and work problems out
• Dislike the behavior not the child
• Ignore situations when possible
• Use non-verb gestures to indicate your desire for a change in behavior
• Move to the child to avoid inappropriate behavior
• Acknowledge acceptable behavior – reinforce good choices you want repeated
• Give attention to those doing the right things
• Reward behavior that is close to the desired  behavior
• Have realistic expectations of the age of the child
• Tell children exactly what you expect in a simple way
• Believe that children will act as they see adults
• Combine affection and control with each child
• Be consistent and fair
• Use the methods of discipline such as distraction and redirection