How to Discipline Your Tamagotchi: Tough Love the Virtual Way

Since the beginning of the Tamagotchi craze, the allure of Bandai Namco’s keychain pets has always been about providing a byte-sized simulation of real pet parenting. 

That means feeding, cleaning up their poop, playing with them, giving them medicine when they’re sick, and of course, disciplining them when they’re naughty. Everybody gets out of line sometimes, and just like real pets, your baby Tamagotchi needs to be scolded when it misbehaves to help it grow up into a well-behaved adult Tama. We only want the best for our Tamagotchi, like any good pet parent, but knowing exactly when and how to lay down the law can be a little tricky.

Let’s take a look at when you should discipline your Tamagotchi pet, the best ways to do so, and the potential consequences of letting the virtual critter run riot. By the end of this article, you’ll learn about your pet’s discipline scale, how it works, and what to do to move that scale in the right direction.

Just remember to stay strong! It’s for their own good!

Should You Discipline Your Tamagotchi?

Discipline is an integral part of raising any Tamagotchi. Without it, your pet could grow into an ill-mannered, unruly, hoodlum of an alien, and no one wants that.

There are a few scenarios in which it is appropriate to discipline, whether you have an original Tamagotchi or a different version:

• If the Tamagotchi beeps, even though it’s full and happy.
• If the Tamagotchi refuses to eat even though it’s hungry.
• If the Tamagotchi refuses to play games, even though it’s unhappy. 
• If the Tamagotchi refuses medicine when ill.
• If the Tamagotchi is throwing a tantrum.
• If the Tamagotchi sends a prank gift to a friend instead of the intended gift selected by the user. 

You might be tempted to let things slide occasionally, but keeping your Tamagotchi on the straight and narrow is pretty important. The only way to get hearts on the “Happy” and “Hungry” screens is by playing games with or feeding your Tamagotchi, so they could fail to evolve or even die if you fail to discipline them.

In short, letting them run riot is actually doing them a disservice.

How Do You Discipline Your Tamagotchi?

Curious about how to get your Tamagotchi in line? It’s simple – give it a stern talk.

Generations 1 and 2 of Tamagotchi come equipped with a discipline icon that resembles a Pac-Man letting out a zig-zag sound wave – the symbol of discipline. Access this by cycling through the icons using the “A” button till “Discipline” emerges, then execute with a firm press of the “B” button, and you’re on your way.

With the Tamagotchi Connection, the concept of discipline has evolved into a more comprehensive “Training” mechanic, which involves both scolding and praising. This makes the disciplinary process a little more complex, so make sure to read your character’s emotions before laying down the law. If it exhibits signs of sadness, like crying or turning its back, it’s simply yearning for your affection! Instead of increasing their distress, highlight the “Discipline” icon and select “Praise” with the “B” button. That’ll boost their mood and get them back to doing their best.

On the other hand, if your pet roams about the screen in its regular demeanor while disregarding your attention – THAT’S a sign of mischief. When that happens, after navigating to the “Discipline” icon, tap “B” and select either “Punish,” “Scold,” or “Time-Out.” Each successful “Training” intervention boosts the training meter – a visual representation of the triumphant accomplishment that is your virtual pet parenting journey!

Fact

The discipline mechanic takes on some creative forms in other Tamagotchi versions. For example, in Mothra Tamagotchi, discipline is instead called “justice”, and you use that to stop your pet from attacking Tokyo Tower. In the Genjintch Tamagotchi, discipline is instead called “evolution” and is more about influencing how your Tama grows up rather than being about their behavior.

What Happens When You Discipline a Tamagotchi?

Every Tamagotchi has a discipline meter to let you know how you’re doing as a parent. Every time you carry out discipline effectively, you’ll hear a sound effect, and the highlighted attention icon will turn off. The more successful disciplines you carry out, the better your Tama will behave!

On certain versions of the Tamagotchi, your virtual pet may lose a heart when you discipline them, even when you’ve done it the right way. No one likes to be disciplined after all. However, most other versions will only do this if you discipline when it isn’t necessary. But surely you’d never do that… right?

What Does the Discipline Meter Mean On Tamagotchi?

The discipline meter isn’t very complicated – it’s really just a gauge that shows how well you’re disciplining your Tamagotchi. The meter moving towards the right means you’re disciplining your Tamagotchi well and you’ve got the makings of a truly well-behaved digital pet, while moving to the left shows that there’s room for improvement on both sides of the relationship.

Overall, the higher the Discipline meter, the less likely your Tamagotchi will get in trouble.

If you want to increase this meter, be sure to scold your Tamagotchi when needed, and only when needed. For later models, discipline is one of the ways to increase Tamagotchi’s training meter, and training impacts what kind of adult your Tamagotchi will grow into.

Tip

To check the discipline meter, just press the "A" button and select the meter icon. This displays all of the information about your Tama, including how well it has been trained.

What Happens When the Tamagotchi Discipline Meter is Full?

For the original Tamagotchi, each successful scolding results in a 25% increase to the discipline meter. Your Tama will only make enough calls to fill the meter, and once it’s full, it will not call again until it evolves and the meter drops back down. When the Tamagotchi evolves from a child to a teenager, the discipline meter will drop to 50%.

You should also know that not responding when your original Tamagotchi’s calls won’t result in a care mistake, so you can relax knowing your Tama can still enjoy a long life.

As for more recent Tamas, they will call even after the discipline meter is full. If you miss these extra calls, it will ultimately affect which kind of adult your pet will eventually grow into. Stay vigilant!

Can You Discipline Your Tamagotchi Randomly?

If for some reason you’re feeling sadistic, Tamagotchis do allow you to arbitrarily discipline your pet. However, scolding your Tama without good cause will lead to them losing a “Happy” heart, because obviously it’s a mean thing to do.

If it loses too many hearts, your Tama will die, which means you can essentially murder your virtual pet if you feel so inclined. But hey, unlike real pets, you can always just hit the reset button.

You would still be a monster, though.

How Do You Pause a Tamagotchi at School or Work?

Your Tamagotchi won’t be quiet according to your schedule, so unless you mute your Tamagotchi, you’ll hear its call for discipline anytime throughout the day. For instance, when you’re at school, work, the library, or any other place where a sudden, high-pitched noise is unwelcome.

Now, you can’t just discipline your pet during class or while you’re on the clock. However, you also don’t want to risk care mistakes or negatively affecting your Tamagotchi’s evolution. Fortunately, there is a way to temporarily pause the toy, even if only for a few minutes, so you can focus on those “important” things. Like studying or paying the bills.

There’s no way to pause an original Tamagotchi, but there is a clever workaround you can use. All you have to do is adjust the toy’s internal clock:

1. Access the clock on the toy by pressing the “B” button. 
2. When you see the clock, press the “A” and “C” buttons simultaneously until the hour starts blinking. 
3. Instead of adjusting the time, just leave it.

At this stage, the Tamagotchi is technically paused, so keep it on this screen until you hear the recess bell, and you can pick up exactly where you left off when you get back home.

In an interesting twist, Second-generation Tamagotchis give you the option to leave your pet with its parents. It’s about time they showed up!

Just press and hold down the “A” button until a menu opens, then select “Family> Parents> Leave” to leave your virtual pet until 5:00 PM. It’s virtual pet daycare!

It wasn’t until the Tamagotchi Connection that an actual, dedicated pause function was introduced. To activate it, press and hold down the “A” button, then press and hold the “B” button. The screen will read “Pause.” Repeat those same steps to unpause. Easy. 

Spare the Rod, Spoil the Tama

Tamagotchi is a one-of-a-kind toy that introduces real-life skills in a virtual setting. It teaches its users responsibility, even the harder parts, like disciplining.

No matter what you’re doing with your Tamagotchi, you’re sure to have a blast watching it grow. Just don’t neglect to forget to give it a wag of the finger now and then!

For more Tamagotchi, collectibles, and all things 90s, you can follow Rediscover 90s Toys on Instagram, Pinterest, and all our other social media pages.

---

Lee Davey

Lee is curator of nostalgia and a long-time collector of loveable junk. An 80s baby, 90s kid, he knows he had it good when it came to Saturday morning cartoons. Spends his life trying to recapture the dopamine hit of playing Game Boy for the first time and believes Beanie Babies will make a fortuitous comeback. Obsessed with everything (and anything) retro, he is your trusted guide to a world of 90s toys, games and collectables.

---