Discipline might be the most important and most difficult thing one can possibly teach their kids.  To be able to do the same thing every day, day after day, no matter what the situation is a test in one’s ability to persist and a test of one’s will.

And to get the lesson across as a parent, one has to share that same amount of, if not more, dedication to get the lesson across. Because discipline can be taught only through action.

It’s really hard!

Discipline involves a lot of no’s. It involves ignoring the friend at the door, or the show on the tele and sometimes the Stilton book that has come in the mail. And we all know how close to impossible that is.

Discipline involves sacrifice. Ask the parent who chose to wake up half an hour earlier to sort breakfast, the parent who rushed through shower so their kid could get to class in time or gave up their favorite show to drive them back and forth. The parent who sat across the street or in the Cafe next door to ensure they didn’t miss their class. Discipline is hard because it involves your complete self.

There is no half-hearted lesson. You have to dive in straight. And you have to live your talk.

Discipline involves sitting up at 11.50pm to finish your write up because you promised your child you plan to write every day. Discipline involves getting words out even though they eluded you through the day, because you are a parent and a parent teaches by example to stick through and finish up, no matter what the odds.