Kids SquareOffs

these methods may seem effective but also carry long term consequences that may not be beneficial for children.

Spanking begetts hitting and yelling begets yelling. That is not communication. It's important to communicate with you kids about why their behavior is less than ideal. A firm tone is often needed, but through experience I have learned yelling at my son is useless... it's better to talk to him after the dust has settled.

I have both spanked and yelled at my daughter when I was frustrated with her behavior, but I quickly realized that neither was effective. I found it is best to stay calm, be stern but not mean, and give my daughter and myself a timeout in order to diffuse the situation so that we can talk about why her behavior was not acceptable.