Discipline Techniques Using Cards

Green Means Go

• If your little learner is able to understand the traffic light analogy to color codes -- typically by the preschool years -- you can use red, yellow and green cards as a discipline technique. Stack a red card on the bottom, yellow in the middle and green on the top, placing the mini-deck in a prominent space such as on your child's play table or on a bulletin board. Your child starts out with a green card to signify his already good behavior. When he acts out or disobeys you, pull the green card to reveal the yellow one. Yellow can equal a warning for his behavior. If he doesn't repeat the behavior within an hour, add the green card back to the top. On the other hand, if he does continue his misbehavior, pull the yellow card and change it to red. A red card equals a time out, with one minute per year of the child's age.

Face Cards

• Instead of leaving the smiley and frowny faces to your social media or texting emoticons, add them to your child's behavior cards. Draw your own "emoticons" on index cards -- making a happy smile, sad frown or an angry pursed-lip look. You can hand your child a card when she behaves in a way that makes you feel one of these emotions. For example, if she immediately picks up her toys after you ask, give her a smiley face. You can also have her use the emoticon cards to express her own feelings. Instead of throwing a tantrum when she gets mad at her baby brother for drawing on her doll, she can hold up the card and use her words to explain it.

Printable Problem-Correctors

• If you don't want to make your own cards, or you don't trust your artistic abilities to draw even a simple face, opt for a ready-made printable. You can use a teacher's version from a website such as TeacherVision or UseVisualStrategies.com. Download the templates to your computer, print the cards and cut them out. You can choose from a wide array of cards that cover different behavior problems or work for different age groups. For example, the picture cards at UseVisualStrategies.com are geared towards autistic children, but they can work for other kids as well. Each card features the words and a picture for a behavior -- such as "be quiet" or "sit at the table" -- that you can use as visual cues.

Stop Sign

• The red octagon at intersections is a universal symbol for the word "stop." Create your own stop sign cards by drawing the symbol onto index cards, or paste a pre-printed version on card stock. When your young child starts an unwanted behavior, pull the card out as a visual cue to stop immediately. For example, if your preschooler's hand is headed toward the cookie jar 20 minutes before dinner-time, hold up the card to show him that he needs to stop.