Your little one has been rather naughty as of late – starting fights with their siblings, shouting at you and other family members, refusing to do any chores – and nothing you do seems to make a difference! You’ve always tried to reward good behaviour rather than punish bad behaviour, and this really worked with your older kids. But the youngest just doesn’t respond to sticker charts, pocket money, and other rewards in quite the same way.

So, you’ve decided that it’s time to involve consequences in your disciplinary methods.

Now, it’s really up to you to make up a list of consequences, as you know your child better than anyone, but we’ll offer up a few suggestions that you can then cater to your little one.

So, what are a few examples of consequences for bad behaviour?

No more screen time. Most of us can admit that we need to reduce our screen time, whether we’re talking about phones, TV, laptops, or tablets. But it’s hard to give these things up once you’ve gotten used to them, after all, they’re designed to be somewhat addictive. To have all daily screen time removed is a fairly serious consequence for kids of today, so it’s sure to be an effective tool for discouraging bad behaviour. Remember that the threat of no screen time is often as effective as the actual removal.

Extra weekly chores. House chores are actually fantastic for kids because they not only teach them responsibility, they also offer your child a sense of accomplishment. However, most kids don’t particularly enjoy them. So use this to your advantage and assign extra chores as a result of bad behaviour.

No playdates. Whether they love a sleepover with their bestie or even just a park visit with a couple of the local kids, the removal of playdates is an effective disciplinary tool because children don’t enjoy feeling left out.

Withdrawal of a favourite toy or activity. You’ll know that children can become obsessed with a new toy, to the extent that it’s the only thing they want to play with all day every day. Whether they’re obsessing over a new Xbox game, a gorgeous new Barbie, or a brand-new Lego set, the threat of its temporary removal is a great motivator for good behaviour. If your little one is especially attached to a cuddly toy or blanket they’ve had for a long time, do remove this item.

Loss of privileges. Most families develop their own set of privileges around the home. These privileges could be anything from choosing what’s for ‘Friday night dinner’ to picking the movie on ‘Saturday movie night’. The loss of these privileges is a very real annoyance to young kids, so parents can use this method to condone bad behaviour.

Now, before you go about implementing these disciplinary methods, we’d like to offer up some important advice for using consequences with children.

Make sure to balance consequences with incentives. Make sure you also present your child with incentives for good behaviour and not just consequences for bad. Incentives are often much stronger motivators and they allow you to praise your child and express that you are proud of them.

Don’t have consequences that last too long. As with time-outs, consequences that go on for too long can do more harm than good. Similarly, try not to threaten or implement more than one consequence at a time.

Wipe the slate clean once your little one has done the time for the crime. Once the consequence is over, reassure your little one that you believe they’ve learnt their lesson and then allow them a fresh start.

What are some consequences for bad behaviour?

It's important for children to learn that there are consequences for their actions.