The Importance of Discipline: Building Better Families and Better Communities

Who hasn't driven under an interstate overpass and noticed graffiti scrawled on the bridge? Beyond being a public nuisance, graffiti costs our communities time and money because eventually someone has to pay to have the mess cleaned up. Guess who is paying? That's right, the hard-working taxpayers of our country. This is just one example of how discipline is important for our community as a whole. Focusing on the importance of discipline will help us build better families and communities.

No, not every child who isn't disciplined is going to end up a graffiti artist or in jail. However, you will not likely see a child who is brought up in a home where discipline is given top priority turning into a graffiti artist or ending up in jail. Do you really want to take the chance that your child can grow up into a productive individual without your guidance and discipline? Of course not, that's why it is important to teach your children from an early age how to interact in society. Part of discipline is teaching children how to get along with others, how to respect the property of others, and how to be a productive part of a community.

Building a Better Family

When your child is young, his community consists of his household. When you focus on the importance of discipline in your household you build a better family. No one in the family can have fun if one person decides to ruin it for everyone by misbehaving. Unless siblings are taught how to treat each other with kindness and respect, your house will be reduced to a scene of squabbling and fighting. You will become frustrated with the constant bickering and start yelling.

It is rare for siblings to get along perfectly. Of course they're going to fight, but as a parent you must actively use these fights and disagreements to teach your children how to resolve conflict, and how to get along with other people. This teaching is discipline. Whether it is putting a child in timeout for hitting her sister, or teaching a child how to apologize for breaking his sibling's toy (and then teaching his sibling the importance of forgiveness), discipline is consistently teaching your children your values and beliefs.

It is a lot of work to actively discipline your children, but once you grasp the fact that it directly correlates to building a serene family life, you will find that you will build a better family life for yourself. Eventually children learn and understand the rules, and then it does become easier, but in the beginning you must be vigilant about setting up boundaries and enforcing the rules.

Building a Better School Community

As a child grows, his community broadens to his school. Your child will benefit from your understanding of the importance of discipline when he goes to school. If you've taught him early on about rules, and you've been consistent about enforcing them, then his transition to the classroom will go much more smoothly than if he'd been left to do as he pleased and suddenly thrust into a setting where he cannot do as he pleases. Instead of hating school for all of the rules and boundaries, he will be free to enjoy learning and his classmates will benefit because they too will be free to learn instead of waiting on the teacher to discipline one student.

Building a Better Community

When a child becomes an adult, you will no longer have any say over how he behaves, but if you've taught him well, he will head out into the world with a strong background of right and wrong. You will have fewer worries, as a parent, knowing that you've taught him well, and our communities will have a person who gives back to the community rather than one who leeches off of it and drains its resources.

In today's global community, it is crucial to grasp the importance of discipline now in order to create a positive future for the world. As we saw on 9-11, it takes only a few people to do great destruction, it is imperative to teach our children to value human life and property. Those who focus on the importance of discipline in their families, help ensure better communities for the generations to come.