Distraction. Infants (birth to 18 months) typically do not need strong disciplinary measures. When babies “misbehave” they are often exploring and testing their boundaries. Simply directing a baby’s attention elsewhere may solve the problem.

Time-Out. Many parents use time-out for all behaviors all the time. However, for time-out to work, it should be used as one tool in an arsenal of other discipline techniques for ages 2 to 8. Some basic guidelines for time-out include:

• Make it short –– 1 minute for each year of your child’s age.
• Eliminate reinforcers. Your child should not be able to play, watch television, etc.
• Use a timer. Restart the time if your child leaves time-out.
• Use other discipline techniques if time-out does not work.

• Choose a meaningful privilege that your child will greatly miss.
• Follow through on warnings to remove privileges.
• Remove the item for a short amount of time (differs by age –– several hours for a 2-year-old but several days for a 12-year-old).

Natural consequences. Parents do not need to get involved in order for natural consequences to take effect. For example, if your child refuses to eat dinner, instead of developing a power struggle, allow her to go to bed without eating. She will naturally be hungry in the morning and will be certain to eat. (Appropriate for children 2 and older.)

Logical Consequences. This is a punishment that fits the crime. Suppose your child throws a ball in the house and breaks a vase. She could be asked to work off the value of the vase or use her allowance to buy a new one.

Spanking. Spanking typically works best with ages 2 to 6. It should be used only for specific, purposeful misbehavior and should never be done in anger. As with other techniques, spanking should be used as one of many discipline tools.