Discipline is society’s way of teaching children the moral behaviour approved by the social group. Its goal is to let children know what behaviour is approved and what is disapproved and to motivate them to behave in accordance with these standards.

In discipline, there are three essential elements: rules and laws which serve as guidelines for approved behaviour, punishment for willful violation of rules and laws, and rewards for behaviour or attempts to behave in a socially approved way. During the early childhood years, major emphasis should be placed on the educational aspects of discipline and punishment given only when there is evidence that children not only know what is expected of them but when they wilfully violate these expectations. To increase young children’s motivations to learn to behave in a socially approved manner, rewards serve the purpose of reinforcing the motivations.

Today, there are three methods in common use for disciplining children and adolescents. The labels attached to these methods and the common characteristics of each are given and explained below:

Types of Discipline Used in Early Childhood

Authoritarian Discipline

This is the traditional form of discipline and is based on the old saying that “to spare the rod means spoiling the child.” In authoritarian discipline, parents and other caretakers establish rules and inform children that they are expected to abide by them. No attempt is made to explain to the children why they must conform nor are children given opportunities to express their opinions about the fairness or the reasonableness of the rules. If children fail to conform to the rules, they are subjected to corporal punishment, often harsh and cruel, which is supported to act as a deterrent to future rule breaking. Their reason for breaking the rule is not taken into consideration. It is assumed that they knew the rule and wilfully violated it. Nor is it considered necessary to reward them for complying with a rule. This is regarded as their duty and any reward given, it is believed, might encourage children to expect to be bribed to do what society regards as their duty.

Permissive Discipline

Permissive discipline developed as a revolt against the authoritarian discipline many adults had been subjected to during their own childhoods. The philosophy behind this type of disciplinary technique was that children would learn from the consequences of their acts how to behave in a socially approved way. Consequently, they were not taught rules, they were not punished for willful breaking of rules, nor were they rewarded for behaving in a socially approved way. There is a tendency on the part of many adults today to abandon this form of discipline on the grounds that it fails to fulfil all three of the essential elements of discipline.

Democratic Discipline

Today there is a growing tendency to favour discipline based on democratic principles. These principles emphasize the rights of the child to know why rules are made and to have an opportunity to express their opinions if they believe a rule is unfair. Blind obedience is not expected even when children are very young. Attempts are made to have children understand the meaning of the rules and the reasons the social group expects them to abide by them. Instead of corporal punishment, in democratic discipline an attempt is made to make the punishment “fit the crime” in the sense that the punishment is related to the misdeed. Appreciation for attempts to conform to social expectations as spelled out in rules is shown by rewards, mainly in the form of praise and social recognition.

Regardless of the kind of discipline used, almost all young children are punished at some time. Common forms of punishment in use today include corporal punishment in the form of slaps, spankings and beatings; isolating children in their rooms; sending them to bed, often without food; making them sit in a chair in the corner so everyone can see them in disgrace; withholding privileges, such as watching a favorite TV program; threatening to leave them or to cease to love them; comparing a child unfavourably with siblings; and nagging and harping on their misdemeanors. After a decade or more when spanking was frowned upon as a form of “cruel punishment,” there is some evidence that there is a swing back to its use.

Rewards in the form of toys, candy, or being taken somewhere or given a special treat are used, somewhat sparingly, by parents of young children, even by those who favour democratic discipline. They are afraid they will spoil the child, or they regard the reward as a form of bribery, which they have been told is a bad disciplinary technique. Omission of the use of rewards deprives young children of a powerful reinforcer of their motivation to learn to behave in a socially approved way.

Studies of the effects of discipline on young children have shown that children are affected differently by the different types of discipline they receive. The common effects of discipline on children’s behaviour, attitudes, and personalities are given below:

Effects of Discipline on Young Children

Effects on Behavior

Children of permissive parents become selfish, disregard the rights of others, and are aggressive and unsocial. Those who are subjected to strict, authoritarian training are overly obedient in the presence of adults but aggressive in peer relationships. Children brought up under democratic discipline learn to restrain behaviour they know is wrong, and they are more considerate of the rights of others.

Effects on Attitudes

Children whose parents are either authoritarian or permissive tend to resent those in authority. In the former case, they feel they have been treated unfairly; in the latter case, they feel their parents should have warned them that not all adults will accept undisciplined behaviour. Democratic discipline may lead to temporary anger, but not to resentment. The attitudes formed as a result of child-training methods tend to become generalized, to spread to all persons in authority, and to persist.

Effects on Personality

The more physical punishment is used, the more likely the child is to become sullen, obstinate, and negativistic. This results in poor personal and social adjustments, which are also characteristic of children brought up permissively. Those brought up with democratic discipline make the best personal and social adjustments.