I ask my child to do something for the umpteenth time, and he’s in Dreamland. I raise my voice and yell at him—and he listens right away. Yelling works, right? For about a minute. And then the long-term results are disastrous.

In The Principles of Education and Guidance, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn writes that many educators err in believing that yelling produces results. The child may obey and even cry tears of remorse, but this type of education has no lasting benefit whatsoever.

Not only does the child not learn anything, but the educator’s angry and scornful words actually cause a child to lose respect for the educator and leave the child with a bad impression.

If my child isn’t responding, I may need another tool from my parenting box, but yelling isn’t one of them.

Thoughtstream: Today, I will restrain any impulse to yell at my child.

(Adapted from Klalei Hachinuch Vehadrachah, Section 5)