All parents want to have a child who is well-behaved and can deal with everyday challenges. Children learn how to resolve conflict from their parents. If the parent often yells, spanks, threatens and/or shames the child, the child will learn that it is okay to act that way with others. These methods can harm children and may have negative lasting impacts on their relationships with others. There are more positive ways to teach children that do work!
The new website www.ChildrenSeeChildrenLearn.ca offers many suggestions to help you guide your child from birth to age six. The website has eight short video clips. Four of these videos share suggestions for parents to guide their children in a positive way and comments from experts. The videos show real-life situations that were filmed with families from Ontario. The other four videos offer tips from parents who have young children. All the videos can be shared with your online social networks.
Here are some of the positive discipline tips found in the videos:
- Think about what your child understands at this age.
- See the situation from your child’s point of view.
- Redirect your child’s attention.
- Help your child understand why their behaviour is not acceptable.
- Give your child choices.
- Help your child learn to problem-solve.
- Help your child see how to fix mistakes.
- Show your unconditional love.
The website was developed in response to a survey of 500 Ontario parents of children aged zero to six years old. The survey confirmed that parents find parenting challenging. The majority of parents reported that, at least occasionally, they got annoyed with their child and lost their temper. Twenty-six (26%) of parents slapped or spanked their children at least occasionally. Given the number of young children in Ontario, this indicates that there are a quarter million young children who are sometimes slapped or spanked! Yet, research clearly shows the negative, long-term impact of physical punishment. Parents need help in finding positive ways to guide their children.
Parents of young children indicated that they like to learn about parenting using interactive websites. www.ChildrenSeeChildrenLearn.ca has been designed with the needs of busy parents in mind. The website is easy to navigate and the videos are interesting. Experts were consulted in the development of the website to make sure that the information was based on research. Many parents tested the website and said they found it very useful.
For more information and resources for new and future parents, visit the Best Start Resource Centre’s website at http://en.beststart.org/for_parents.
Last updated: July 2017