Can I Change Bad Behavior in my child through discipline?

The purpose of discipline is to teach children four key principles of living a life pleasing to God:

1. Conviction realizing where we have gone wrong;
2. Confession asking God’s forgiveness for our wrong behavior;
3. Forgiveness claiming what God freely offers;
4. Change Behavior practicing the new principles God shows us.

As children mature, they require stronger discipline measures than a stern look; but God has provided a way to tell if your methods are working. Proverbs 29:17 says, “Discipline your son, and he will give you rest. Very simply, if your child is not giving you rest, you can know you are not disciplining him correctly. Though there is much controversy in our society over spanking, the Bible teaches its merits. If your child is not giving you rest, I encourage you to re-examine what God says about spanking. I believe the greatest change that could happen in America would be if parents went back to spanking their children at a young enough age when they respond well. Then by the time a child is 8 or 10, he would not require a spanking.