Parents don’t need to be pessimistic, but it’s nice to be realistic. Some parents are over-protective, others overindulging. Keeping children ‘up close and safe’ is the best according to some; although it may not be good for the child’s development. Likewise, spanking kids, scolding them when they do something unpleasant, and screeching at them if and when they misbehave, are certainly not the best disciplining moves either.

Children need their parents’ love and attention. They need every bit of parental guidance at every step of their development. If parents do feel that they are doing all that they can, it is essential to take a step further and do even better than the best. All children must grow to be independent, and they must choose to do the right thing by themselves. Parents must always be there in the background: maybe 4 feet away, maybe in another room or probably a few miles away. But children believe in their presence and choose to behave right. (Parents can be simulated with God; we cannot see Him but we ‘feel’ and choose to believe in Him so we do the right thing). Kids also need to do the right thing not for fear of punishment, or greed of reward. They must do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do. That is discipline. That is what parents need to learn to inculcate.

Not just kids, adults need to follow discipline too. Parents need to be tolerant towards their child. They need to make amends in their wrongdoings and promise themselves that they will deal with children maturely, entrench the right thought processes in them and shape their behavior gently. The tough branch breaks if struck hard (like all stubborn children who don’t like to be scolded). If we gently use heat, we can even bend glass without breaking or scorching it.

Parental understanding of the word “discipline” can be far from reality. Each has their own parenting theories. Many equate discipline with reacting negatively to bad behavior. Most don’t realize that discipline is mostly what one needs to do to encourage good behavior. It’s better to prevent a child from falling down in the first place than to patch up crashes and scrapes after he or she has taken the tumble. Disciplining is about preventing bad behavior.

Discipline is everything parents put into their children that influences how the kids actually turn out. Parents need that guidance system that keeps their children in check at age three to keep behavior on track at age thirty. They need this system to be integrated into the child’s personality from the outset. All parents want well behaved children, thus all parents will make benefit of learning what is the right thing to do to assure that.

Research on children’s development shows: the most positive outcomes for children occur when parents use democratic styles in their thinking as well as actions. Most children with permissive parents tend to be aggressive, act out and tantrum more, while children with overtly autocratic parents may be compliant and submissive but have very low self-esteem. Indifferent parenting is as if these kids don’t have parents. The democratic style builds emotionally strong, intelligent and confident children. No parenting style will work unless parents build a strong connection and reach out to the child. These workshops allow schools to reach out to parents so that they facilitate their children’s academic success and more.