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Verbal ReprimandAka: Verbal Punishment

See Also
1. Discipline
2. Time-Out
Definition
1. Scolding to eliminate a child's undesirable behavior
Precautions
1. Never use during a Time-Out
2. Never shout
3. Direct reprimand specifically at behavior
4. Do not attack your child's character
Key components of a reprimand
1. Stop the behavior (e.g. Stop pinching)
2. Why your child should stop (e.g. pinching hurts)
3. Provide alternative (e.g. ask nicely for the toy)
Efficacy
1. Decreases negative behavior in the short-term
2. Only effective if used infrequently
3. If used indiscriminately then will reinforce behavior
4. Not effective when used as only Discipline method
References
1. Wyckoff (1984) Discipline without Shouting, p. 8
2. Banks (2002) Am Fam Physician 66(8):1447
3. Stein (1998) Pediatrics 101(4 Pt 1):723

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This page was written by Scott Moses, MD. This page was last revised before 5/10/08, prior to consistent tracking of revision date. This page was last published on 6/1/2008. Please send comments and questions to the editor. Contact information may be found on the page About the Family Practice Notebook. These pages are best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0.