4 Things You Can Do Instead of Hitting Your Child

Physical punishment is an easy way to punish your child; they misbehave and in a moment of instinctive anger, you lash out and hit them. In the short term, this might seem very effective, but does it have any positive effect in the future?

In fact, all it does is teach children that violence is the appropriate way of expressing anger or frustration.

Here are some things you can do instead of hitting your child

1. Lead by action

You are your child’s guiding figure. Consciously or subconsciously, they will always attempt to emulate you. So make sure you only behave in a way that you would want to see reflected in them as they grow up.

2. Talk to them

Hitting children has no long-term effect in rooting out the problematic behavior; instead, it simply teaches them to better hide the actions that brought about the punishment. What you should do is talk to them about the behavior first to see if you can get to the root of it. Resolving it will have a far greater effect than hitting the child.

3. Give them love and attention

Sometimes, the reason children act out is that they want to draw attention to themselves. Make sure that your child is getting enough love and consideration at home, and he doesn’t have to turn to these desperate measures.

4. Cool off before acting out

Act, don’t react. Sometimes, we do things in the heat of the moment that we will regret later. Take a moment to cool-off before you punish your child so that you can look at the situation more objectively and decide how you want to proceed.

Instead of showing anger, exhibit love and patience, and your child will open up to you and rectify his own behavior.