Discipline of children is a difficult subject for most parents. Kids don't come with owner's manuals and no two parents were ever raised exactly alike. Each new family starts out anew trying to figure out the techniques of discipline that both parents can be comfortable with.

What do we mean by discipline? Some of us think it means punishment. Some of us think it is a necessary evil to enable the child to grow up civilized. Some see a noble connotation as in self-discipline. Some hear an authoritarian word noting control. My favorite dictionary defines the verb "to discipline" as "to train by instruction" and I find this the most useful meaning.

There are two goals of discipline:
1) As parents we want to stop the child from doing something dangerous, hurtful, or annoying which means the goal is to control the child.
2) We also want to impart values which means the goal is to teach the child.