Ideally, the goal is to see the discipline of child gradually lessen as he or she approaches the teen years (the opposite of what we often see in society) because life lessons have been learned and righteous actions are personally desired. Yet that does not mean parents no longer have a responsibility to discipline their teenager when necessary. In these cases, we have found the best methods to be restitution (a good action toward the one wronged – see Exodus 22) and/or the removal of a privilege (loss of electronics, use of the car, attendance at an event, etc.). Rarely if ever would our teen discipline be “grounding” (as in unreconciled confinement) or exclusion from family activities or the use of something good as an instrument for “punishment” (house chores, exercise, writing, etc.).
1
