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Others claim punishment is not effective Page 5, News, Wednesday, February 24,1988 " Spare the rod and spoil the child" Mental Health and You is provided as a service of the North of Superior Programs. The purpose of these articles is to inform the community about mental health issues. These articles will cover a variety of mental health issues. If you would like to comment on this article or any of the other articles that have appeared, feel free to write to the News office, P.O. Box 579, Terrace. Bay, Ontario, POT 2WO. Any opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the man- agement of the North of Superior Programs. By Hadley Koltun "Spare the rod and spoil the child." We have all heard that old saying and many people actually believe it. Some adhere to this quote like glue. Others claim that punishment is actually not effec- tive. When most people think of punishment, they think about "spanking" a child. However, "spanking" is really a more severe form of punishment. Punishment can be the addi- tion of a negative consequence that results in the decrease of a bad behaviour. For example, suppose your child broke a window playing ball. By making him pay to replace that window, you will teach your child that every time he breaks a window (bad behaviour) he must pay for it (negative consequence). This will (hopefully) allow the child to draw a connection between what he did and the pun- ishment. This will (hopefully again) make the child think twice before he breaks a window. _ As you can see, punishment can be an effective disciplinary tool if used sparingly and fairly. It is true that children must be shown disapproval of unaccept- able behaviour. ; However, it would be wise to first use less severe forms of dis- cipline such as speaking to the child or holding the child. These may be all which is nec- essary to discipline a child. If these other forms of disci- pline are not helpful, then punish- ment may be necessary. Some appropriate forms of punishment include the removal of a privilege or the addition of an unpleasant chore. Here are. somé guidelines to remember when you are consider- ing punishment for a child: 1) Punishment should never be used to hurt a child- your main intention in punishment is to teach your child the way to behave, not to hurt him. Avoid spanking. Also, never withhold food from your child. Food is a basic-need for survival. Never withhold a basic need as punishment. 2) Punish sparingly and fairly- it is important to be aware of the punishment you are giving to your child. Does it respect his or her rights as a person (remember: children are people as well). Would it be the type of punish- ment that would be fair if some- one did this. to, you?.Is it too Blue Cross John Guthrie Group Representative John Guthrie is located in the Thunder Bay Office at Suite 707 34 Cumberland Street North Thunder Bay, Ontario P7A 4L3 @ 807-345-5451 7769 Introduces Blue Cross is pleased to introduce John Guthrie as a Blue Cross representative in your community. John joins Bob Lenardon and the Thunder Bay office staff. Experienced in the field of employee benefit programs, John will be pleased to show you the plan or combination of plans which will provide complete coverage for employee-group health care requirements. ae BLUE CROSS harsh? 3) Be logical in your approach- let the 'punishment fit -the.crime" so that the child real- izes the connection between what she did wrong and the punish- ment. When punishing the child, indicate to her what she has done wrong, what the punishment is and the correct way to behave. 4) Follow through on your . warnings and punishment- many parents will decree threats and - punishments but will never act on them. Some parents will bring on a punishment but will only enforce it for a short time. Children catch on to this and their behaviour may become worse because they -s, know they can get away with it. 5) Punish immediately after the bad behaviour- the child must know why he is being punished. If you punish-a. child: for some- thing he did last week, he may not get the connection between the punishment and the had behaviour you wish to correct. As I said earlier, the child must know why he is being: punished and what is the correct way to behave. Tell him this in. 4 calm voice but with a firm marincr. Get to the point. 6) Remember to punish the behaviour, not the person- always tell the child it is the way she acts that you object to, not the child herself. 2 A child may not understand this but when she does, she will most likely have a good sense of self-confidence. 7) After the punishment, for- give and forget. Always start a ' clean slate since the child-has already paid his dues. Never bring up the incident again. It is hard at first to practice all these rules at once, especially if they are new to you. Take them one step at a time. You might have even found that these are rules you have used for a long time. - After all, good discipline is really a matter-of common sense. Next time: Spanking and self-discipline. Dear reader- we would like to hear your feedback and. comments, on this and our previous articles. Please write to us care of the Terrace Bay/Schreiber News, P.O. Box. 579, Terrace Bay, Ontario, POT 2WO. Please let us know how you feel about these articles. They are for you! Environmental risks aren't only Acid Rain or Industrial Toxic Wastes. Each one of us in his or her own way has a daily impact on the quality of the environment. Or the washday detergent. The cleaners and polishes in the kitchen cupboards or the paints and solvents in the basement. It may be cigarette smoking. Each family home, regardless of how safe and cozy it appears, contains chemicals which should be carefully controlled. Make sure you're doing your best to control household hazardous wastes: e Become aware of the chemicals you use and dispose of every day. e Educate your children as to the hazardous products in your home and store those products safely. e Buy only those products which can be used and disposed of safely. e Buy pesticides and other household chemicals only in quantities that you can actually use. Help to organize special refuse collections for hazardous materials. e Discourage overuse of plastics and styrofoam. e Encourage the use of re-usable materials. Do your part to make sure the world is safer for yourself. That way we'll all benefit. i+i Canada Environment Environnement Canada Canada re