Are You Raising One of the Next Generation of Hoodlums: WHY DISCIPLINE IS NECESSARY

by Dr. Joyce Willard Teal

To significantly decrease the chance that you are raising one of the next generation of hoodlums, discipline is absolutely essential. And know that the younger your son is when you begin to teach him the value of becoming a disciplined individual, the more accepting he will be of discipline.

As an integral part of the discipline process, help your son to understand that discipline is an ingredient of love. Provide for him clear and simple examples. You might tell him that just as you can’t leave a key ingredient like sugar out of a cake and have the finished product be the best that it can be, you can’t leave a key ingredient like discipline out of your love for him and assist him to become all that he can be. If you begin this dialogue early in your son’s life, and make it an ongoing part of your conversations with him, he will become more accepting. He will also begin to understand that you are responsible for assisting him to become a self-disciplined individual, and that the only way that you can do this is to discipline him when he should be disciplined.

Take pride in being the one to help your boy to understand that just as providing for his needs and assuring that he learns to read and write are done out of your love and concern for him, so is discipline. You might even let him know that he is not expected to like being disciplined, that no one does, but that discipline is necessary. Make him aware that boys who are allowed to grow up without discipline become undisciplined men. Point out to him that undisciplined men are the men who don’t take care of their families; they are the men who frequently end up in the prison system because they are the ones who refuse to work consistently in order to earn what is required to take care of their own needs and the needs of those for whom they are responsible. And when a man will not hold a job, he still has needs just as men do who work consistently, but he cannot meet his needs using the wages that he has earned. So what does to do? He hustles; he frequently steals and does other things that are against the law; consequently, he ends up in jail! Point out to your son that you love him too much to allow him to grow up undisciplined.

Once your son begins to understand just how necessary discipline is for a growing boy in order for him to become the best that he can be, this awareness will significantly decrease the chance that you are raising one of the next generation of hoodlums. In fact, he is likely to accept the discipline with little or no resistance. And you can help this along my requiring him to articulate why he is being disciplined. Don’t let him get away with, “I don’t know.” Of course he knows, and having him articulate it helps to clarify for him the reason for the discipline and why it is necessary.

Parents: children thrive when they have boundaries, and your fair and consistent discipline helps to define the boundaries for your son.

You’re invited to visit www.untealthen.com