WATCH: Discipline strategies for parents, from comedian Steve Harvey

As a 64-year-old father of seven adult children, Steve Harvey knows a thing or two about disciplining children.

“I don’t know how I would have raised my kids without yelling,” Steve says. 

In one episode of The Steve Harvey Show, the comedian and actor offers alternative ways to discipline your kids without the need to shout. 

The Facebook video has garnered over a million views, and some parents related while others found it funny. 

Harvey believes there are more discipline alternatives where parents can provide the same message, in a different but effective way. 

These discipline strategies include: 

• Whispering
• Clenched teeth
• Stare-down to squint
• Silent mouthing 

Instead of parents taking these strategies for themselves, many went down memory lane, remembering their parents and the kind of discipline they got. 

Janet Pour, a Facebook user, commented on the video and said: “I had a feisty mother who yelled and would surely let you know when she wanted to give you hell.” 

The long look seems to be the most popular strategy. Moms who prefer to not say much have a look that says exactly what they want. Kids grow accustomed to this look, and when they get it, it’s a wrap. 

ALSO READ: Effective ways to discipline children that don’t include any form of violence

Some preferred it when their parents yelled instead of whispered. The tone of voice during the whispers may sound too aggressive for some. 

Discipline is a relative concept in every household, as it involves what parents deem acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. Rules, therefore, may not be the same across every family. 

How these rules are enforced is also different

With the evolution of parenting and the different parenting styles that have surfaced over the years, parents are adopting different tools to discipline their children. 

Many of them include positive reinforcement, limit setting and modelling good behaviour. 

Parenting coaches advise that parents should adopt strategies that are in alignment with who their children are. While some children will not respond well to shouting, some prefer being sat down and spoken to. 

Harvey’s mother whispered when she was disciplining him in church, and it seemed to have worked well for him.