What's the Best Form of Child Discipline?

Praise
Rather than completely relying on punitive forms of discipline
when raising children, you should focus most of your disciplinary
attention on praising good behavior. Children respond much better to
positive reinforcement than to punishment.

Time Out
A time out is a good form of discipline for misbehavior in younger children.
Removing the child from the situation and giving him the chance to calm down creates a
clean slate from which to continue the day. It also helps decrease
misbehavior for the purpose of getting attention. When putting a child
in time out, you should briefly state why the time out is happening and
then not talk to him during the time out. At the end of the time out,
you should remind him of the misbehavior, request an apology, end with
a hug and not discuss the incident further.

Loss of Privileges
With older children, loss of privileges is an effective form of discipline.
If possible, the privileges that are lost should be related to the form
of the misbehavior. For example, staying out past the agreed upon
curfew can result in an earlier curfew for a week, or not turning off
the television when asked can result in loss of TV privileges for the
rest of the day.

Physical Discipline
Physical discipline, also known as corporal punishment, is a hot topic
in parenting debates, mostly because it can be misused, resulting in child abuse.
When used appropriately in moderation, physical discipline, such as spankings or slapping the hand,
can be very effective. The best situations for physical discipline are ones in which the child
is grossly misbehaving, often in a way that puts her or others in immediate and serious danger.
For example, if a child throws a large and hard toy near her siblings, an immediate slap on the
hand will provide feedback that the behavior is unacceptable.