One of the hardest things I have struggled with as a parent is how to discipline my child. The latest trial and error involved rewarding Cruz with video game and TV time for good behavior and taking away his screen time on the weekends for bad behavior. Cruz was doing very well at school and home for about two weeks, but after that his teachers informed me he was having a bad week and not following the class rules again. While his behavioral issues have been minor, I expect Cruz to follow the rules and always be on his best behavior, so I needed to find a disciplinary system that worked and would continue to work.
I needed some insight and advice from a professional about my son's behavior, so I had an interesting conversation with my therapist during my session today. She pointed out that by taking privileges away from Cruz, we were unintentionally rewarding him with more quality time with mom and dad to make up the hour he would have been watching TV or playing video games. So really there was no consequence for his actions. Instead, she suggested we reward good behavior instead of focusing on a punishment for bad behavior.
The advice my therapist gave me totally made sense, and I never would have realized how counterproductive our current system was if I did not have someone from the outside see what was really going on and bring it to my attention. I'm going to put a reward system into place as well as some other changes at home, and I'm very hopeful to see long-term positive changes in Cruz's behavior.
