Best Ways to Discipline Kids

A University of Missouri professor says many parents ask for help with ways to teach their kids self-control, good values, and empathy for others. Christi Bergin, a developmental psychology professor, says the way parents discipline their kids will help their kids develop these skills. She says the most effective type of discipline at any age is induction, which involves giving your child a reason to obey you.

Bergin says the second type of discipline, referred to as love withdrawal or psychological manipulation, creates anxious and depressed children because they are not sure if their parents love them. Another, called power assertion, through things like spanking, grounding, or taking away belongings, can make kids less compliant over time and angrier towards you.