Jo Frost From 'Supernanny' Fame Reveals Most Common Mistake Parents Make When Disciplining Kids

'Parents can end up putting in rules to control children.'

Jo Frost has revealed what she believes is biggest mistake parents make when it comes to disciplining their children.

The 45-year-old from 'Supernanny' fame participated in a live Facebook video on HuffPost UK Parents, and said the biggest issue is the "application" of discipline.

"Parents can end up putting in rules to control children and giving consequences and discipline that is unwarranted," she explained.

"The application of a discipline can be a parent trying to control a child's behaviour rather than encouraging the children to be more self-independent and to communicate better."

Jo Frost was participating in a live Facebook chat with The Huffington Post UK
HuffPostUK
Jo Frost was participating in a live Facebook chat with The Huffington Post UK

Frost said often discipline is therefore misunderstood.

"There are many times I say to parents: 'Why did you discipline your child and give them a consequence just because you asked them to get up from the sofa and they didn't?'.

"It's got to be about educating them and certainly developing their communication skills rather than always just telling them off."

The parenting guru also said she frequently gets asked by parents what type of discipline they should be giving to their children.

"You have to work out what's valuable to the child and what will educate them," she added.

"It also depends so much on the age of the child and how much they understand."

JoFrost

Frost also addressed the topical subject of smacking.

"It's not relevant," she said when asked her opinion on the debate, that could see smacking being made illegal in the UK.

"It's ineffective and parents can effectively put in boundaries and consequences over smacking.

"Recognising how we compose ourselves as parents and educate our children is important.

"Parents certainly lose their composure in the heat of the moment and smack, but it really just teaches children that if we feel 'this way' then we behave 'this way' and that's not good teaching.

"My take on smacking is not to do so, but continue teaching parents how we can manage our children's behaviour and expectations."

During the live Facebook chat, Frost also addressed topics on bedtime routines, behavioural issues and sibling rivalry.

You can view the full interview on HuffPost UK here.

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