10 Creative (FUNNY) Discipline Ideas
- JAIL TIME: Several years ago I sent my son to jail. He hit his sister and I told him when boys that hit girls, they go to jail. I put him under the kitchen table, put a barrier around it and didn’t let him out for the rest of the night. He has never hit her since. I learned this one from my friend Randy Coleman, he is a great family photographer if your interested.
- NIGHT TIME CHORES: My son told me 1 million times over a 5 day period that he would mow the yard. Guess what, HE DIDN’T. I made him mow at nighttime with a headlamp and car lights as his guide. When your kids continue to put it off, make them do night time chores. Your kids will learn the lesson if you make them get out of bed and take a midnight stroll to take out the trash, mow the yard or make them get out of bed to put the dishes up…you get the idea.
- MISS A GAME: My son is taking snowboard training from former Olympic Coaches, it is called Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. He continually forgets his ski pass, so this past weekend I made him miss practice. Parents, if your kids continually forget or misplace their cleats, glove, hats, mouthpiece, dance shoes. Teach them to remember by making them skip that practice or a game…don’t bail them out or they will never learn.
- OLD SCHOOL SOAP TRICK: If your kids are caught lying, wash their mouth out with soap. Old School but it still works.
- PAY THE PIPER: My oldest son Cole struggles with being negative. My middle daughter, who is tough as nails, struggles with being bossy (she thinks she is the boss of the world). My youngest son Tifton struggles with sharing. Jodie and I put 3 jars on the counter and each time they blow it (in their area of struggle) they have to PAY THE PIPER (put a dollar in). At the end of the week, the jar w/ the least amount of money…get it all!
- GIVE GRACE: I mentioned this earlier in the week. I am mentioning it again, hoping that it sticks. There are times when our kids really blow it and all the discipline they need is love. Really! IF their attitude is right, give them grace and irrationally forgive and wipe away the punishment.
- YOU HAVE TO CRY: If your kids are throwing fits…”Tell your child to go to her room to continue her fit. She isn’t allowed to come out and she has to keep crying for 10 minutes. Ten minutes is an awfully long time, and it’s no fun if your parents tell you to cry.” Taken from Lisa Whelchel’s book, “Creative Correction“.
- COLLABORATIVE WINDOW CLEANING: I just got this one in from my friend Jennie Poppenger, btw…she is a social media & marketing expert if you need help in this area. She said “if your kids are bickering, make them wash opposite sides of a window at the same time. They can’t help making faces at each other and pretty soon they’re laughing!”
- LET THEM DECIDE: I am notorious for bringing this one to the table. I let my kids choose their own discipline. Why? I trust them and they typically have a pretty good idea what punishment fits.
- HEAD GEAR: This is the worst punishment any kid could have!
Join the conversation: Would love to hear some of your creative discipline ideas.
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Great Ideas Chris…. I am exciting to use some of these…wait a minute is that wrong to be excited. No, really we have been hitting a road block with the 3 youngest and these will be very helpful. I own the book Creative Correction…. I need to pull that out again.
Here is one I used last week. My second,Caleb is famous for being negative,especially with the comments he makes to his sister. Sometimes really hurtful. I made him make a list of all her great qualities and give them to her and apologize and ask for forgiveness.
Thank for sharing…examples really help. This site has really been a blessing.
We are wanting to take a trip,maybe ,to Steamboat. Caleb and Mady cant ski or snowboard(chemo and broken arm) so we were thinking of snowmobile or sledding… since you are from here do you have any other great ideas? Have a blessed day. Hope all is well with Jodie gone.
I am making Cole do the same for his sister! Great idea…
I’ve got an 8 year old with a problem remembering to wear his retainer. I’ve already told him that he must die if he ever loses it, but I hope he knows I’m joking.
I make him pay me $0.50 cents every time I find it not in his mouth, and it’s become our family game. (He earns quarters for different chores throughout the week, so he always has .50cents.) The younger kids are always helping him remember in exchange for him only paying them .25cents…
Maybe my younger kids are good business men or blackmailers?
Our 9 year old daughter was being a teensy bit disrespectful, so the next day while she was off with her dad, I told her, find ways during the day that you can serve your dad. Ask him if he needed anything, if there was anything you could do for him….also find a way during the day that you could do something for me that I would normally do (something around the house). By the end of the day her dad was wondering why she kept asking “daddy, do you need anything?” and I got a little help around the house! It was kindof funny, and she learned a lot from that day.
I decided to use your idea of putting a kid in prison for hitting today. I put my 9 year old (almost 10) in prison after she hit her little brother more than once. She was TICKED. I put her in her room and fed her bread and water for lunch (which she didn’t eat). When I finally let her out, she locked herself in a room downstairs. I went in to her later and she had a paper in her hand. This is what it said, “Mercy triumphs over judgment!!! But he gives us more grace. That is why scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ ” Hmmm, so did it work? I haven’t had a chance to debrief with her yet.
Jonathan & Lori I absolutely love your ideas! It so so hard for parents to think differently about discipline, including myself. Love your ideas & plan to implement them.
Jonathan & Lori I absolutely love your ideas! It so so hard for parents to think differently about discipline, including myself. Love your ideas & plan to implement them soon.
Tonya, it sounds like you have a smart one there! I am not sure if the prison idea had an impact or not, you will surely need to debrief with her. I don’t believe that any discipline is effective once & the most important aspect is the “heart” of it. Do your kids know that you love them deeply, do they hear you tell them how much you care and love them, do they know that your goal is to protect and guard their heart? would love to chat w/ you in more detail if you would like. Feel free to email me!
Good stuff!! We will use these!
Where do your kids get the money to ‘pay the piper?’ Chores? I love this idea, not sure if mine are too young. (4 & 2) I think the 2 yr wouldnt get it but the 4 would.
First time on your site – awesome!! I’m passionate about parenting and this is right up my alley!
Can’t wait to try out the “Pay the Piper” thing – I might not do a dollar though – will have to think about what amount.
In response to the last comment – yes, my boys do earn money for chores, so that’s where the money will come from. We started at age 3 with this. So 2 is probably a little two young yet – but store it away – I’ve often done that with good tricks that we weren’t quite ready for.
We used the You Have To Cry one yesterday. Our 7 yr old started crying, and within seconds became fake crying. I told her she had to go to her room and cry for ten minutes. She went and layed on her bed and fake cried for a few minutes, then came strolling out. I told her to go back and cry some more because she still had 7 minutes. It was almost like time out, but with required theatrical activity
I love it! I am a teacher and a parent and I love these ideas-I have just created a new website to keep up with education-take a look http://www.teacherslounge.co.nz and tell me what you think. I would love to put this list on there but better be a good girl!! I will post to Facebook instead-love the midnight chores and are going to try it with my 9 year old son!!
I will check out your site Sharlene! thanks for checking out epicparent. feel free to share this on facebook or re-run it on your site if you would like. simply let people know about epicparent if you don’t mind!
My eldest daughter (13) decided to light some paper on fire in her younger sisters bedroom. I punished her by getting her to write an essay on the dangers of fire. Worked a treat!
wow!! that made me laugh hearing about the fire. she’s a brave one! love the essay idea.
We are have Smile-ishment. When someone is being unusually sulky, grumpy, or generally unpleasant to live with, they must smile continuously for 20 minutes. What begins as horrible, cheese-whiz fake smiles usually erupts in real giggles and uproarious siblings. I realize we’re not supposed to punish one child in front of another, but this is *by far* our favorite family spectator event!
Love the site! Thanks for your ministry! Praying for Team Sprad!
I love this one! funny! I am going to use this w/ my oldest.
My daughter is adopted and had a rough childhood. So normal “punishments” have no affect on her. She doesn’t care to lose tv time, have a favorite toy taken away, etc. So these ideas are wonderful compared to the route we was trying to use. (: Thank you all for getting this out on the web!!