PEP Blog

11|05

Discipline: What Works, What Doesn’t, and Why

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Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D., will talk about parenting and her new book, No-Drama Discipline, next week in Potomac on Thursday, Nov. 13, and in Chevy Chase on Friday, Nov. 14. Answering questions from PEP Parent Educator Katherine Reynolds Lewis for Washington Parent magazine this month, Dr. Bryson made these key points about discipline without drama:

• Punishment doesn’t teach. Instead, it shifts the child’s attention to how mean the parent is, and any potential lesson is lost.
• Learning happens only when a child’s brain is in a receptive state. When the brain is reactive (as is usually the case when misbehavior occurs), the child can’t make thoughtful choices.
• Getting a child back into a calm, receptive state of mind is the first step of discipline. After that, there’s often very little else a parent has to do.

Read the full Q&A to find out how to move your child into a receptive state, where you can connect and actually teach the lesson you want your child to learn.

And, don’t miss the chance to hear Dr. Bryson’s clear, captivating, humorous and helpful presentations on how to use brain-science research to understand our kids and help them to thrive. Find more information and registration for her talks on our Noted Authors page.