When my son was little we used timeout because he loathed having to sit down and do nothing. One minute per year of age in a chair facing a wall. I rarely had to send him to timeout. As he got older, things changed. We've always been big on giving him an allowance as soon as he was old enough to understand helping…

I get it— I get that frustration— I have a 3 yr old that tests every limit of my patience, composure, and commitment to non-violence . I've had some moments that I'm supremely not proud of.
But I also get why you're being torn apart here. It's not just because this is the internet and people are assholes (which…

I'm sorry, but what were you expecting? Everyone to just be like "Sure, I also shake my children LOL"? People are horrified because it's dangerous and harmful behaviour - they're not picking on you to be mean, they're genuinely shocked. Just saying "but those are my weak moments, it's not as bad as you think!" is just…

I can't tell if you're joking or not. The second paragraph made me tilt my head and say HUH?? and the last paragraph is horrifying. I could relate to the first one though. Raising kids is tough. I have little patience and lose it but that just causes me to yell really loud at them. I rarely put my hands on them to…

You'll be a better parent (and more effective) when you decide to never put your hands on your child in anger again.

Hitting your child does not teach him empathy, it teaches him that violence is acceptable if you're larger or in a position of power over the other person. It's ok to be frustrated out of your mind, but as a parent you have the obligation to choose your behaviors and not let anger direct you (you're the one in…

Dude cats actually give ZERO fucks. The only thing my cats have responded to was the spray bottle but they still misbehave. They really just learn how to be sneakier.

When we were shitty little kids, my mom sat us down and enthusiastically said, "Let's make a list of all your favorite things! What are your most favorite toys and your favorite things to do?" After we excitedly told her these things and she wrote them down, she put the list on the fridge and said, "Now, next time you…

I take the Dr. Cox approach to rearing kids: children are like dogs that gradually learn how to speak. Until they're a certain age, you use a lot of the same techniques you use on dogs (repetition, patience, reinforcement of good behavior, redirection/ignoring bad behavior, and CONSISTENCY.) You don't need to beat…

I'd keep it old-school and just make my misbehaving child push a boulder up a hill.

Take their things away. Limit them financially. Restrict their movement. When all of that fails, that's when you resort to intimidation tactics.

I feel like punishment options are nearly endless if you take into account physical labor. My parents had me doing my fair share of chores in the first place, and when I broke the rules I would have to pick up a chore they knew I hated or — even better — get resigned to some sort of Sisyphean errand. Examples: "Weed…

I'm nowhere near capable of handling kids; I'm still having trouble disciplining my cats. The bad one in particular is quite averse to being held like a baby, so I've used that as my chief disciplinary technique, but the result seems to have been that she continues to misbehave but has gotten better about running away…

I am no expert, but I rely more on consequences than time outs and talking - though I also do time outs and talking, and during the freak out years, I did time ins as well. But nothing works better than "You did this*, you lose this thing for this time"

Yes. Basically the way I've tried to look at it is this: My daughter is the world's worst troll. If I get angry, then she wins!

As a parent I learn to pick my battles with the kid. Sometimes a tantrum needs to run its course and followed by a talk. A kid's not going to be an angel all the time; as long as it's not in public where he's inconveniencing others JujyJunior can vent frustrations without feeling he's going to get a smack.

Children are smarter than you think. If you don't think you can sit them down, look at them in the eye, and talk to them, then you're the idiot. Even at two you can talk to them. I remember Oprah giving this tip a very long time ago on her show: "Lower your tone of voice when you reprimend them. Don't raise your…

my parents used to beat me pretty good. Same with a lot of my friends. Some of my friends will say that the fact that we all turned out to be decent law abiding is proof that beatings work. However, sometimes I feel like the reason I'm not a murderer has absolutely nothing to do with any beatings I took as a child. If…

"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words... When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise [disrespectful] and impatient of restraint".