The Punishment Trade Off [One Minute Feature] - Trace Embry

When you take something away, do you replace it with something else? Discipline as a parent can be a tricky topic. Sometimes offering a positive or constructive replacement can be just what your child needs.

Does your child have access to digital devices? When disobedience rears its ugly head, a digital fast may often act as a consequence. But there’s a second step.

Replacing Menial with Mindful

In our digital age, many parents use, as a punishment, the withholding of video games or other digital devices. Not that there’s anything wrong with punishment per se. However, many self-proclaimed parenting experts might contend. Punishment is only one component of the greater and more fruitful objective known as discipline. So, without filling the void with an activity that engages Junior’s brain in a completely different direction, simply removing the video game leaves Junior mental margin to continue practicing the game in his mind. That’s when we miss an opportunity to squelch Junior’s growing appetite for his addictive digital pleasure. A reading assignment or a project that requires physical and mental labor are just two of many great options.

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