Should I punish my 8 year old for having a "bad attitude"?

Answer 1

no.
shes a pre-teen girl, she's going to have bad attitude no matter what.

punishing her will only give her a worse attitude, not correct it.

Answer 2

Well, it depends on what you mean by a "bad attitude". If the child is upset with something, and they are angry about that you should not punish them. Let the child express their emotion. A bad attitude is okay but, a temper tantrum is something to punish a child for.

Answer 3

Perhaps it would be best to first figure out the source of his bad attitude. For example if you feel it may be stemming from low self esteem or perhaps a feeling of superiority over others there are ways you can address those issues. It's very important to figure out why he has a bad attitude and then make an effort to resolve that issue.

Answer 4

Well If your 8 year-old doesn't give you some respect u should totally punish him but if it doesn't feel right for you to punish him in anyway then don't.

Answer 5

Most definately. You don't want your child setting the rules and running all over you, do you? Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying beat him! I'm just saying, that even at a very young age, children should be taught about respect. It's important to try and teach your child that even though he/she's angry, they need to try to resolve their feelings in a more possitive matter, and it's important that you teach them that. There's a time for love-nurturing, and there's a time for proper discipline, and learning. You know yourself that noone ever stops learning. And children hunger for knowledge. So, teach your child more about respect, and positive self-concept so that when he/she gets older, he/she'll be a more rounded and balanced adult. The self-esteem has alot to do with one's attitude. If he/she is more accepting and respectful, it usually stems from a more positive self-concept. I'm sure you're a wonderful mom :-) I wish you the best. Take care, and God bless.

Answer 6

Punishing the child for a bad attitude will make it worse. Maybe try raising their spirits? Find something positive to focus on?

Answer 7

It's terrible when our kids have "bad attitudes" towards us and others. Part of the problem is that often the behaviours are not specific enough for us to come up with reasonable ways of handling them.

I have a few suggestions. First, I don't particularly like using the word punishment in this case. Punishment is something we do to kids to get them to change behaviour/stop/start whatever. I like using the word discipline. Discipline is something we do for our kids. Everyone needs discipline-and as kids grow we want them to have self-discipline. That's what makes us brush our teeth twice a day, be at work/school on time, dress appropriately, answer the phone when it rings, etc. Our kids need discipline and when they're young they need it from us, as they get older, they'll get it from themselves.

Attitudes are difficult to change, but specific behaviours usually aren't. So try and focus on one or two specific things your child does that are symptoms of his/her bad attitude. For example, s/he might answer you back rudely when you speak. In that case, whenever I wanted to ask something of him I'd say something like, "I'm going to say something to you and when I finish, I want you to say "ok" or "yes, mom" (or whatever you think is appropriate). Listen carefully and then I'm going to see how long it takes for you to give me the answer I'm looking for."

It can be made into a game (some kids love to compete against themselves or the clock). The point is you're setting your child up to succeed and do the right thing. I realize that this seems to be a lot of work to get a child to say ok- but I often find that when I start to gain ground in some areas, others tend to fall into place, too.

I think at the same time, it's important to model respectful behaviour to your child and to others. Even as parents, we need to earn others' respect. Often if my kids speak disrespectfully (well, downright rude at times) to me I say "I don't speak that way to you or to other people and I won't accept you speaking that way to me. When you can speak nicely I'll be happy to listen to you" and I walk away.

Those words might take longer than answering her question or correcting him, but the fallout and anger take a very long time to heal. And by telling a child what they can do to right the situation, we're teaching them an important principle-that whatever we've done wrong, we can work to fix it.

Hope this helps! God bless you.

Answer 8

No. You should let him/her continue to be a little brat. That way you'll really contribute something to the world! Sorry; what kind of parent needs to be told to punish her kids when they need it? Obviously the child needs to be talked with and yes, scolded if the behavior doesn't improve.

Answer 9

yes you should because if you dont then your child will continue to give you bad attitude and make things worse. so put your foot down,lay down the law make sure he knows you are the boss and dont want any bad attitude from him.

Answer 10

i have a 7 year old and she has a bad attitude every time she comes home from school i have asked her teacher who is she hanging around with so it could be who she is hanging around with so i would check it out first

Answer 11

It's either punish/discipline now, or deal with an out-of-control teenager later. You're laying the foundation for this child's behavior later in life.