I love you, AND the answer is, “No.”

Rudolf Dreikurs taught the importance of being both Kind and Firm in our relations with children. Kindness is important in order to show respect for the child. Firmness is important in order to show respect for ourselves and for the needs of the situation.

Authoritarian methods usually lack kindness. Permissive methods lack firmness. Kindness and firmness are essential for Positive Discipline.

Many parents and teachers struggle with this concept for many reasons. One reason is, they don’t feel like being kind when a child has “pushed their buttons.” As adults we need to model controlling our behavior if we want children to learn how to control their behavior. Sometimes it is the adults who may need to take some Positive Time-Out until they can “feel” better so they can “do” better.