Smarter Ways to Discipline Children

Techniques that psychologists often use effectively with the most difficult kids, including children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder, can work well on typical kids, too. Approaches, with names like "parent management training" and "parent-child interaction therapy," are backed up by hundreds of research studies, but their tactics remain little known among the general public. Alan E. Kazdin, a professor of psychology and child psychiatry at Yale University and director of the Yale Parenting Center, says we often pay more attention to when kids misbehave than when they behave well. Dr. Kazdin recommends at least three or four instances of praise for good behavior for every timeout a kid gets. In general, when a child messes up, parents should use mild negative consequences (like a short timeout or a verbal reprimand without shouting). 

The Wall Street Journal, 12/26/2012