The Ideal Approach to Discipline

As a follow up to my book review of The Connected Child, here is the one part of the book I found most instructive. The authors presented a discipline approach that they called "IDEAL."

I - Immediate   The response must be quick. They recommend within 3 seconds of the misbehavior.

D - Direct   Be near. Make eye contact. Avoid distractions.

E - Efficient   Use the least amount of firmness and words necessary to make the point clear.

A - Action-based   Lead the child to a "do over," redirecting him or her to an appropriate behavior.

L - Level the response at the behavior, not the person.

These are good reminders for me to consider in my interactions with all children. The process seems like a simple, effective test/checklist that can be used in a variety of scenarios.