You are here
Positive discipline
Save the Children promotes “positive discipline” and contributes to training sessions for parents on how to support children and young people in their development using positive teaching methods. The difference between punishment and positive discipline is mainly that punishment is a process which focuses on what a child has done wrong, while positive discipline assumes that children want to behave well but need help in understanding how to do so. Punishment is based on the idea that you have to make children suffer to encourage them to understand what they have done and discourage them from doing it again. Positive discipline on the other hand, works on the principle that children learn more through co-operation and rewards than through conflict and punishment. It also builds on the idea that when children feel good, they tend to behave well and when they feel bad they are likely to behave badly.
Physical punishment is often used by people whom children love, who have responsibility for them and who have authority over them. Physical and humiliating punishment is, in fact, an abuse of power. Parents can have authority with their children using positive discipline techniques, or abuse the power they have over their children by using physical and humiliating punishment.
Physical and humiliating punishment may seem easier and quicker than positive discipline methods, but it can damage the child’s development and the relationship between the parent and the child. Positive discipline encourages parents to think about the long-term goals they want to achieve.
Photo: Hedinn Halldorsson/Save the Children
-
Save the Children Psychological First Aid Training Manual for Child Practitioners
The Psychological First Aid Training Manual for Child Practitioners (PFA) was developed by Save the Children Denmark for the Child Protection Initiative, to facilitate training in psychological first aid with a focus on children. It is aimed at developing
-
Impact Evaluation of the Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting Programme (PDEP)
The Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting (PDEP) programme is based on the theory that a person’s behavioural beliefs determine whether the person perceives that behaviour as positive or negative. It is designed to reduce parents’ approval of physical
-
Changing Attitudes to Physical Punishment of Children in Aotearoa New Zealand
In 2007 Section 59 of the Crimes Act 1971 was amended in New Zealand to protect children from assault in any context. The repeal of the law supported children’s rights to dignity, bodily integrity, safety, and equal protection with adults under the law. D
-
Ending Violence in Childhood: Global Report 2017
This report makes a case for ending the wide-ranging violence against children occurring across the world. It is a publication from an independent global learning initiative, Know Violence in Childhood. The project, like the Violence Against Children Stud
-
Prohibiting all Corporal Punishment of Children: Answers to frequently asked questions
This is one of three booklets produced by the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment with support from Save the Children Sweden. These booklets should give parents and carers, government officials, education professionals and others the confiden
-
Stop Hitting! Banning all Corporal Punishment of Children: Questions and answers for children and young people
This is one of three booklets produced by the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment with support from Save the Children Sweden. These booklets should give parents and carers, government officials, education professionals and others the confiden
-
School Violence and Bullying: Global status report
This report focuses on violence and bullying in formal educational settings, in particular violence and bullying between students, and on actions that can be taken by the education sector and schools to prevent and respond to the problem. It aims to: Pres
-
The Impact of Violence on Children's Lives: A snapshot of Latin America and the Caribbean
Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) faces very high levels of violence towards children and adolescents. In recent years, there has been a spike of violence, particularly involving boys- homicides often linked to gang activities and the migration of una
-
Prohibiting Corporal Punishment in Schools: Answers to frequently asked questions
This is one of three booklets produced by the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment with support from Save the Children Sweden. These booklets should give parents and carers, government officials, education professionals and others the confiden
-
Invisible Wounds: The impact of six years of war on the mental health of Syria's children
For the past six years, children in Syria have been bombed and starved. They have seen their friends and families die before their eyes or buried under the rubble of their homes. They have watched their schools and hospitals destroyed, been denied food, m
-
UNGA 2017 Resolution on Violence Against Children
As part of Agenda 2030, the world’s governments have set ambitious targets to end violence by 2030, in order to deliver the vision of a world where all children – boys and girls alike – grow up free from violence. This year’s resolution is an opportunity
-
Civil-Military Relations & Protection of Children
In recent years the conduct of war has changed dramatically; modern conflict often takes place in civilian areas, where the difference between combatants and non-combatants is not immediately clear. These changes have led to civilians becoming the primary