Whats the best way to discipline/punish a 4 year old ?

Answer 1

Taking TV time away works every time.

Answer 2

My 4 yr old son can be quite a handful sometimes. I find that taking his playstation away works. ( he plays ratchet & clank) He's only allowed on it for 1 hour a day. Anyhow, depending on what the child did. I use a spank as the LAST resort. It's hard sometimes to realize why they act the way they did. Yes, alot of actions are copied from adults/other kids, however, the only way that child will learn is with consistancy and follow through. ie: you say you'll take something away if he does it again, do it! Explain why he/she can't do whatever they did. Surprising how much 4 year olds understand and remember. I have found out the hard way that yelling does not work. They don't hear your words, all they hear is your loud voice. I hope this helps a little.

Answer 3

4 year olds that are out of hand need to be able to feel in control--the bad behavior is their way of gaining control. when the child does acts inapropriately, you give him choices--your choices--and let him decide. he can either sit down at the table and behave or he can go into his room for a time out. he gets to choose. if he does not behave, you calmly separate him from the bad behavior area saying, oh, so you choose to go to your room. two 5 minute trips to the room (not too long--they will forget why they are there) and maybe some sobbing, and you will break the habit, say 'are you ready to choose sitting nicely a the table now?' and let him come out and try it again. be consistant and most of all, make the choices simple, and don't overreact to things that all kids try. giving him choices lets him feel in control while you are the one really in control.
giving him a certain reaction consistently teaches him to expect the same reaction always, so a calm firm reaction is what he will learn to expect when you behave that way on a regular basis. yelling and then finally giving in will be expected all the time if this is what is done all the time. kids need consistency--they crave it, it's up to you to provide a pleasant consistency.
try the nanny 911 book. i have put her wisdom into practice and i can tell you, it works. hitting and yelling only make more bad feelings and bad behavior, and never work. most of the time the bad behavior is one of a few things, an attention ploy (the child does not even realize this) or they are testing their limits with you (which is part of the process of growing up). once they know what your limits are, and they have your calm attention, they generally learn to behave better. also, when it is something you don't want him to do, and he is not understanding it or he becomes persistant, try diverting his attention, sometimes poor behavior is because they are tired or hungry and cannot express this like an older child, so be patient. if you are having a hard time with patience, lock yourself in the car or a room where he can't hear you and go ahead and cry or scream, and release some tension (but don't leave him unsupervised). i know it can be very trying, and you can get very frustrated, but you have to remember he is learning from you every moment of his young life!
i hope this helps, you didn't say exactly what kind of behavior you are having a problem with, so i tried to give advice that would cover most forms of unwanted behavior.
good luck

Answer 4

Their is no best way each child is different than the other. Time out seems to work the good on children that really hyper. But for kids that play with other kids. What works that I see is the best is make that kid sit in the same room as you and do not let them do anything besides sit there. But if you are going to discipline your child. You have to be consistent about it. Sometimes a good old fashin spankin' helps out.

Answer 5

Time out method works for most children but remember the place that is the 'time out' place needs to be free from distractions and toys. It only works if you are trained to make them sit there. Also, remember after time is up you need to talk to the child about the behavior. Most important when dealing with children, BE CONSISTENT!

Answer 6

We use the time out thing and send our 4 year old to his room. Or we take away his favorite things for a certain amount of time. That really seems to work

Answer 7

I would try time out or loss of privileges, if he fights with you about it just stay consistent and don't let up. After he has settled tell him calmly why he was punished and say you love him. Don't coddle cause that just tell him that the punishment meant nothing. Watch super-nanny she really knows her stuff.

Answer 8

Make sure the child KNOWS what he/she should be doing. You can't just say "be good" you have to explain what "good" is. She/he needs to be told every time what you expect. "No running at the resturant", "No throwing food at the resturant", "No yelling inside", very specific like that. If he/she still breaks rules, be sure she/he knows what rule he/she broke. If you choose a time out, or leaving whatever fun she/he is doing at the time, or whatever else, reming him/her again after the tears WHY they were diciplined. And next time, remind again what happened last time and say let's not do it again. Stay calm, and consistant.

Answer 9

we put our 3 yr old in timeout but only for 1 min of every year of their lifes eg.4yrs 4 mins on the stairs but time it if they move put them straight back and restart the time its hard at first but they soon realise if they sit there from the start its over quicker and if they behave they they dont have to go at all and ask them to say sorry and what theyre sorry for and get a hug good luck

Answer 10

Take away something the kid values. Then, later let them know that if he disobeys or does something bad, there are consequences for bad behavior. Also, teach them the right way to do things and also how to apologize when they've done wrong. But, you must take away something the value, to get their attention and for them to realize that bad actions = bad consequences.

Make them earn back whatever they value, which you took away, by doing good.

Answer 11

Time out in the corner usually works. Otherwise taking away toys for a certain period of time, no dessert, no tv/ game time works as well.