It will help us to list some rules we should follow when disciplining our children. We don’t want to be too harsh with our children so that we cause hatred or resentment, nor do we want to be so lenient that our discipline becomes ineffective.
A mother and father are the adults in the home and thus have authority. Their job is to make household or family rules for the children to follow. The correct way to make those family rules is for the father and mother to first discuss what rules they expect their children to follow. The mother and father must make the rules together and agree on the rules so the children will not be able to play one parent off the other. They should write those rules on paper. That may take time because it might be necessary to cancel some rules and later add new rules that they see are necessary. The parents should pray about the rules and make the rules thoughtfully and carefully because their purpose is to cause the children to do what is right. The parents should be examples of keeping those rules themselves. Once the rules are written down in final form, the children must be taught and understand those rules. For older children, it might be a good idea to put the paper of rules somewhere visible in the home so the children can refer to them often. Then, finally, the children must always obey the rules. When children disobey, discipline is used to cause them to change their behavior.