Lyons 1

Jake Lyons

Mrs. Cramer

Comp Pd. 8

7 December 2018

Children Must Be Taught Appropriate Behavior

In today's world, children must be taught appropriate behavior. There are all types of children

because they come from different backgrounds, but regardless, they all must learn appropriate behavior

for when they are in public places communicating and in the presence of other people. Kids need to

should be taught by an adult or parent who cares about their wellbeing and knows effective parenting

skills. Someone who knows how to parent and is ready to be a parent is what a child needs. Many

children aren't taught how to act appropriately from a young age, and this leads to obnoxious,

unprofessional adults. Children must be taught appropriate behavior by being spoken to kindly, and

through disciplinary actions.

The first thing an adult should do when a child is acting out and presenting inappropriate

behavior is remain calm, then approach the child nicely. If children aren't spoken to kindly, they are

more likely to rebel or throw a temper tantrum. This could, and mostly likely would, be even worse than

the inappropriate behavior being presented. Modeling the behavior that children are trying to be taught

is a great way to help them manage conflict within relationships. It teaches them to show empathy

toward others (Enright). In other words, if an adult is trying to teach a child how to work well with

others, the adult must teach the child appropriate social skills. The adult should speak to the child nicely

and practice good behavior when in the child’s presence. If a parent or any adult is trying to teach
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children appropriate behavior, it must be a two-way street. No child will listen to an adult if the adult

isn’t teaching them with real life examples. Child Mind Institute states: “Don’t assume kids know what is

expected of them — spell it out! Demands change from situation to situation and when children are

unsure of what they are supposed to be doing, they’re more likely to misbehave.” Children don’t know

what is expected of them without being taught. The best way to teach them good behavior is by

presenting it to them. Children are more likely to be kind if they experience kindness themselves.

Along with being kind to children, kids also must be disciplined when they are acting out.

Disciplining children is essential for them to learn a lesson when presenting inappropriate behavior1.

Children most likely will continue inappropriate actions and behavior if they don’t understand what they

did is not okay. Discipline is a positive thing when used effectively with children. It guides children and

helps them understand and manage their feelings when it comes to dealing with and being around other

people (Noel). Without disciplining a child when he or she has presented inappropriate behavior or an

inappropriate action, he or she may do it again in the future. Disciplining children should never turn

violent, but reasonable punishment helps them learn from their mistakes and they’re more likely to not

act out again. Adults should set clear limits with children, so the child knows what is okay and what is

not (RCN). If a child knows the consequences are for an inappropriate action, they won’t perform it in

the first place. Children need discipline; it helps them grow and learn from their mistakes. 2

Some people may argue against kind discipline towards children. Some adults believe that

“tough love” is the best solution in all cases. They believe being kind might be being “too kind” and it

will not get the point across. This is incorrect. Children need to feel loved and treated with respect, as

they are young and don’t know any better. Most children will become upset and not take the adult

seriously if the adult is throwing mean and horrible words at the child. Children won't learn anything

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Syllogism- Gives a form of reasoning that disciplining children is essential for them to learn.
2
Ethos- Gives credibility to the topic because it is written and published by professionals.
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from this, except that the adult makes them feel like a horrible person. No valued lesson is being taught

if the situation isn’t explained to the child. Yelling, screaming, and being harsh on a child only makes him

or her feel vulnerable towards the adult, which may ruin the relationship between the adult and child. It

doesn’t set children up for the future or teach them anything valuable in life. Children will be better off

if adults speak to them nicely and keep calm in situations. Although this may be frustrating for the adult,

it is the best thing to do to keep the child calm as well. The child will learn and understand more if

spoken to kindly by an adult who shows compassion and empathy.

Some adults may also argue that disciplining children makes the adult feel like a “mean person.”

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They believe that punishing their child makes them a bad parent or guardian. This, also is not a valid

statement. Disciplining children is a part of parenting. It is a necessary part of teaching a child

appropriate behavior. It helps them learn valuable life lessons and sets them up for the future. Children

need to understand that with every action, there is a good or bad consequence. Adults need to teach

children this concept because it is how life in the real-world works. For instance, if somebody in the real-

world commits a crime or does something illegal, there is a consequence. Even if it is something as

simple as running a red light or failing to use a turn signal, there is still a consequence. Good actions also

are rewarded with good consequences. If someone performs a good action, someone else may treat

that person nicely. This is a good consequence that was caused by someone performing a good action

and behaving well. Disciplining children will help them out in the long run, they will learn something

from it. It can teach them many valuable lessons such as responsibility, even though they may get upset

or frustrated in the moment.

In conclusion, children need to be taught by being spoken to kindly and being disciplined. It

needs to be a balance; there can’t be too much of one thing and too little of the other. Using these

3
Pathos- People have emotion toward disciplining children because it makes them feel bad.
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techniques, as well as others, will help children grown and learn from their bad behavior and mistakes.

As long as an adult has the patience and the mindset to teach children, the child will most likely be in

good hands and will learn appropriate behavior from the adult. If children are spoken to nicely and

treated with respect, they will learn from the adults’ behavior. Whatever behavior an adult has, most

likely will have effect on the child. If you are a kind person to many people, the child will inherit that trait

as well. If a parent is rude and mean to other people, the child may inherit that behavior. A child will not

become upset if they are spoken to in the correct tone and treated nicely. Children also should be

disciplined so they learn their lesson in acting appropriately. Teaching children how to act can be

difficult, but if these methods are used, the child will learn how to act in public as well as around other

people.
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Works Cited

“Discipline Strategies for Children.” Raising Children Network: the Australian Parenting
Website, CorporateName=Raising Children Network (RCN);
Jurisdiction=Commonwealth of Australia; Sector=Non-Government, 18 Nov. 2015,
raisingchildren.net.au/toddlers/behaviour/discipline/discipline-strategies.

Enright, Tracy. “How to Help Your Child Learn Appropriate Behavior -.” Child Development
Institute, Child Development Institute, 8 Mar. 2016,
childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/how-to-help-your-child-learn-appropriate-
behavior/#.XABqDC2ZM_U.

Pietro, Sal. “Managing Problem Behavior at Home.” Child Mind Institute, Child Mind Institute,
6 Aug. 2018, childmind.org/article/managing-problem-behavior-at-home/.