“First, discipline must be prompt. No delays or postponements. Ecclesiastes says that discipline must be carried out ‘speedily.” Second, discipline must be effective. The child needs to feel it. The book of Hebrews says that no discipline seems pleasant at the time but rather painful. If it isn’t painful, it isn’t corrective. Third, discipline must be consistent. Whenever there is an infraction, you need to deal with it. Too often, discipline is meted out based on the attention span of the parent or the annoyance threshold of the parent . . . What are you teaching your children [with intermittent discipline]? It certainly isn’t virtue. You’re instilling in them a gambler’s hope.”
Keep Your Kids, pp. 45-46