Positive Parenting

Family awareness and early identification are often the first steps to effective treatment for children and youth with mental health disorders.

It’s easy to recognize when a child has a fever. But a child’s mental health is different. It can be difficult to distinguish between ‘normal’ problems that all children and adolescents experience from time to time, and behaviour that may be indicative of a mental health disorder.

Positive Discipline

What is Positive Discipline? Positive discipline is a way of teaching and guiding children by letting them know what behaviour is acceptable in a way that is firm, yet kind.

Punishment describes methods of control, gained by requiring rules or orders be obeyed and punishing undesired behaviour. Discipline comes from the Latin root word disciplina, which means “giving instruction, to teach.” Recent brain research has confirmed that people learn best when they feel safe and connected to others, in the context of safe relationships.

Therefore, the goal of positive discipline is to teach by first creating safe relationships with children. Connection must come before correction in order for discipline to be effective in the long term. The most powerful tool for teaching children is modelling what we want them to do or to be.

Why is Positive Discipline Important?

Positive discipline:

• Teaches children responsibility, self-discipline, problem-solving skills and cooperation.
• Is respectful to both children and adults.
• Builds trust and strengthens relationships, helping form new connections in a child’s brain.
• Builds and maintains self-esteem.
• Teaches children how to manage their emotions.
• Teaches children to deal with stress in healthy ways.
• Invites children to contribute in meaningful ways and develops their sense of significance.
• Develops strong understanding that one has power or influence over what happens to them in life.