Gentle Discipline Checklist
Children Behave Better with Proper Diet, Sleep and Connection Time
Mar 8, 2008
Children occasionally go through difficult phases where their behavior becomes hard to handle and even hard to understand. If a child begins to have frequent tantrums or becomes consistently uncooperative, it’s time for the parents to consider some gentle discipline parenting techniques that can help lead to better behavior.
Pay Attention to Diet
When frequent tantrums and uncooperative behavior become a pattern, the first thing to consider is diet. Has there been a high quantity of junk food consumed lately? Have meals been eaten on the run at fast food restaurants? Or have meals been prepared mostly from prepackaged, convenience foods? All of these types of foods tend to be high in artificial food additives, hydrogenated oils and sugar.
According to the Feingold Association, there is a link between unhealthy foods and poor behavior in children. Most people don’t feel their best when they eat an unhealthy diet and children are no exception. When a child doesn’t feel well, it makes it twice as hard to act appropriately.
Get Outdoor Time Every Day
Fresh air benefits everyone. A child’s behavior seems to improve when sufficient time is spent outdoors. Not only does it give a child the chance to burn off some excess energy, but fresh air tends to help children sleep better at night.
Stick to a Routine
Most children need a predictable daily routine to feel settled. Children who have a chaotic life often have more tantrums. It helps young children to know what their day is going to be like.
A strict schedule can be detrimental, not to mention difficult to maintain, but a flexible routine where all of the day’s major events happen at roughly the same time each day is helpful. This means that meals should be prepared and served on a regular schedule and bedtime and nap times should be kept consistent.
Cut Back on Television
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than two hours of television time a day for kids. If your child is sitting in front of a TV or computer screen for most of the day, she is not getting enough exercise. That can lead to obesity and an excess of pent up energy. This energy will often get used in the form of tantrums. Turn off the TV and encourage more outdoor time and play time.
Guarantee Plenty of Sleep
Everybody gets cranky when they are short on sleep, especially children. According to the National Sleep Foundation, preschoolers need 11-13 hours of sleep each night and school-aged children need 10-11 hours of sleep. Behavior problems often show up for children who get less sleep than they need.
To increase the likelihood that your child will get enough sleep, stick to a regular bedtime and naptime schedule. It’s also important to avoid junk foods and heavy snacking before bedtime and to be sure your child gets fresh air and exercise every day.
Connection Time
Pam Leo, author of Connection Parenting, recommends that parents find ways to connect with each of their children every day. A minimum of ten minutes of one-on-one time each day will help children feel connected to their parents and result in improved behavior.
Sources:
Feingold Association of the United States (FAUS), 554 East Main Street, Riverhead, NY 11901, or phone (631) 369-9340
Leo, Pam. Connection Parenting: Parenting through Connection instead of Coercion, Through Love instead of Fear. Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing, Inc.: Deadwood, Oregon. 2005.
National Sleep Foundation website
