Natural Consequences

• When children misbehave, punish them by allowing them to deal with natural consequences, suggests Kids Health, on online health guide for parents. For example, if your child's book report deadline is one day away and your child hasn't started reading the book, then allowing her to receive a poor grade due to her irresponsibility is a natural consequence. Parents may want to rush in and help their child when mistakes are made; however, letting her see how real-world consequences are carried out enable her not to make the same mistake twice.
  
  

Separation

• When an object is involved when your little one misbehaves, separate the object from your child. For example, if siblings are arguing over a toy, then take the toy and put it out of reach, suggests Family Education (familyeducation.com), an online magazine for parents. Although this form of punishment isn't severe, it can be effective for many children. Taking the toy or object away should be done with a firm and calm voice and action; it's important to avoid being angry or gleeful when taking away the problem.
  
  

Consequences Ahead of Time

• Before your child misbehaves, sit down together and create a list of house rules. Give your child the opportunity to come up with the majority of the age-appropriate rules. If you have a preschool-aged child, then no hitting friends and no throwing toys may be rules. For teenagers, rules could range from sticking to curfew to not speeding to completing homework daily. Then together, create a list of consequences if the rules are broken. Ensure the consequences are fair and reasonable. When your child does misbehave and break a rule, he'll know what his punishment is. Parents should be firm when officially implementing the punishment, and although the child may try to argue, it's important to successfully carry out the consequence.
  
  

Logical Consequences

• Setting logical consequences, or consequences set up by parents and adults, helps children learn to be more responsible and better decision makers, according to "Discipline That Works: The Ages and Stages Approach," a fact sheet for families published by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. An example of a logical consequence, according to the university, is a child's not wearing clean pants to school due to his not doing his laundry. This form of punishment, although not harsh, is intended to teach him to complete household chores. He's also likely to learn that not carrying out tasks has repercussions.