Child Discipline Methods: Permissive, Authoritative, and More

Sign In |
Symptoms |

HEALTH A-Z

Medical Reference
Features
Video
Quizzes
News Archive
Community

Subscribe

Health Care Reform

DRUGS & SUPPLEMENTS

WebMD Home

Health & Parenting Center
Guide

Child Discipline
Home

Doctors |

Sign Up

LIVING HEALTHY

FAMILY & PREGNANCY

Health & Parenting

NEWS & EXPERTS

Print Article

Save

Email a Friend

Health & Parenting

This Week on

Tools & Resources

When Parenting Styles Clash

Is Your Child Shy?

Help! My Kid is a Jerk

Parenting a College Student

Are You Ready to Adopt?

Are Germs Good for Kids?

Make Bedtime Fun for Kids

Find Your Fitness Type

Health & Parenting

Guide
Save This Article For Later

1 Baby

Share this:

Font size:

A A

Are You a Junk Food Junkie?

2 Toddler
3 Preschooler

Listen

Today on WebMD

4 Grade Schooler
5 Tween
6 Teen

Related to
Parenting
ADHD in Children
Baby Center

Parents, Kids, and Discipline

How can you provide discipline to your child so that he or she can function well at
home and in public? Every parent wants their children to be happy, respectful,
respected by others, and able to find their place in the world as well-behaved
adults. Nobody wants to be accused of raising a spoiled brat.

Baby Nutrition

But sometimes it seems that these goals are miles away from your child's current
behavior. Read on for barriers to good behavior, effective discipline techniques,
and when to get help for dangerous behavior patterns.

Breastfeeding

What Is Discipline?

Baby Development

Kids BMI Calculator

Is your child at a healthy
weight?

Toddler Milestones
What happens in your childs
second year.

Chores for Children

Get your kids to help around
the house.

Children's Health
Children's Vaccines
Fit: For Kids
Raising Fit Kids
Teen Health

Discipline is the process of teaching your child what type of behavior is acceptable
and what type is not acceptable. In other words, discipline teaches a child to follow
rules. Discipline may involve both punishment, such as a time out, and, more
importantly, rewards. It sounds so straightforward, yet every parent becomes
frustrated at one time or another with issues surrounding children and discipline.

Feeding Picky Eaters

Tips for dealing with
mealtime mayhem

More Related Topics

Top 12 Issues

Barriers to Good Behavior

1 Kids' BMI Calculator

2 Children's Sleep
3 'Stomach Flu' Remedies
4 Preschooler Milestones
5 Chores for Kids
6 Disinfecting Tips

Parents run up against several barriers when trying to teach good behavior to their
children. How many of these have you experienced?
Children who are disrespectful and don't listen: "I must have told you a thousand
times!"
Children who do listen, but defy or deliberately disobey your request for good
behavior.
Accept the Challenge of Establishing Discipline

7 Teen Behavior Problems

8 Sensory Processing

Disorder
9 ADHD Symptoms
10 Birth Order
11 Parenting Mistakes

Your responsibility as a parent is to help your child become self-reliant, respectful,

and self-controlled. Relatives, schools, churches, therapists, health care
professionals, and others can help. But the primary responsibility for discipline rests
with parents.
How do you proceed with this challenge? Take a look at your current parenting style
and how you use discipline. The American Mental Health Association describes
:
three styles of parenting

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/discipline-tactics[6/16/2015 9:50:41 PM]

Child Discipline Methods: Permissive, Authoritative, and More

12 Potty Training
13 Toddler Discipline

An authoritative parent has clear expectations and consequences and is

affectionate toward his or her child. The authoritative parent allows for flexibility
and collaborative problem solving with the child when dealing with behavioral
challenges. This is the most effective form of parenting.

TOOL

SLIDESHOW

Girls and Puberty:

Had the Talk?

The Dirtiest Places

Kids Will Find

SLIDESHOW

VIDEO

Home Remedies for

Cold and Flu

What to Look for in a

Pediatric Dentist

ARTICLE

fit SLIDESHOW

How Adult Vaccines

Help Protect Kids

Show Your Children

How Special They
Are

QUIZ

SLIDESHOW

Is It a Cold or the Flu?

What Are the

Symptoms of ADHD?

Living Healthy
Centers
Baby & Newborn
Balance
Children's Health

An authoritarian parent has clear expectations and consequences, but shows

little affection toward his or her child. The parent may say things like, "because
I'm the Mommy, that's why." This is a less effective form of parenting.
A permissive parent shows lots of affection toward his or her child but provides
little discipline. This is a less effective form of parenting.

Fitness

1|2|3|4

NEXT PAGE >

Food & Recipes

Save This Article For Later

Healthy Beauty
Pet Health

Save This Article For Later

Pregnancy
Raising Fit Kids
Sex & Relationships

Next Article:

Is
YourChild
Child
Spoiled?
Is Your
Spoiled?

Teen Health
Women's Health

Health & Parenting Guide

More Family & Parenting

1 Baby

4 Grade Schooler

2 Toddler

5 Tween

3 Preschooler

6 Teen

Further Reading:

Top Picks

Printable Good Behavior Awards for

Kids
How to Discipline Your Children:
Parenting Dos and Don'ts Quiz
Setting Limits for a Child
Are You Spoiling Your Child?
Effective Parenting: Discipline-Topic
Overview
Establishing Limits With Your SchoolAge Child-Topic Overview
Positive Time-Out
See All Child Discipline Topics

How to Talk to Your Child About

Alcohol
Is Dirt Good for Kids?
Gun Safety With Kids in the House
Common Sports Injuries in Kids
Are You Over-Parenting?
10 Tips to Stop a Meltdown

Subscribe

to WebMD Newsletters
Parenting & Children's Health
Pregnancy & Baby Bulletin
Women's Health
Men's Health

Related to Parenting & Childrens Health

By clicking submit I agree to WebMD's Privacy Policy

Enter email address

Help for Your Childs Eczema

The Facts: Kids Oral Health

How Is ADHD Affecting Your Life?

Childrens Vision Screening

Help for Tummy Troubles in Kids

9 Surprising Reasons to Get More

Sleep

Sign up for more topics!

WebMD Special Sections

Preventing and Treating Diaper Rash
Your Guide to Bottle Feeding
Quiz: Baby Colic and Gas

Health Solutions From Our Sponsors

Feeding a Growing World

IBS-C Symptoms?

Enjoy Dairy Everyday

Knee Pain Relief

Frequent Constipation?

Allergy Relief

COPD and Alpha-1

Managing Diabetes

Managing IBS-C Symptoms

Aortic Valve Stenosis?

Can COPD Be Inherited?

Care for Aortic Stenosis?

21 Days: A New Routine

COPD Treatment

Greater Food Accessibility

More From WebMD:

AAT Deficiency | RA Basics | Severe Psoriasis | ED Causes | Blood Sugar Swings | Caregiver Support | Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms | ADHD in

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/discipline-tactics[6/16/2015 9:50:41 PM]

Submit

Child Discipline Methods: Permissive, Authoritative, and More

Children | Diabetes Diet Myths | Facing Chemotherapy? | Multiple Myeloma | Breast Cancer

Find us on:
About WebMD

Advertise With Us

Medscape Reference

WebMD Health Services

Dictionary

Terms of Use

eMedicineHealth
First Aid

RxList

Privacy Policy
Medscape

WebMD Magazine

Sponsor Policy

MedicineNet

Site Map

WebMD Health Record

WebMD Mobile

Physician Directory

2005-2015 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information.

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/discipline-tactics[6/16/2015 9:50:41 PM]

Careers

Contact Us

BootsWebMD
WebMD Corporate
Newsletters

AdChoices