Toddler Discipline

[Stephanie2377]

So... all you parents of toddlers know that sometimes, these sweet little ones make us pull our hair out! My husband and I are constantly adapting our discipline strategy to meet the developmental needs of our son.

My son will be 2 in March. Right now, redirection, removing items after a warning and timeout in more extreme cases has worked pretty well. I would love to know what strategies you use! As my son nears the age of 2, I know we'll have to reassess and try something different. At least we've found what works for now, and one of the biggest things is to try and keep our frustration level low. The more frustrated we get, the more he reacts.

I'd love to hear your experiences!

[tater03]

We did the same thing with our children when they were that age and it does seem to work for awhile. The problem with our youngest now who is five is that he does not have one favorite activity or toy I can ground him from. If I tell him no TV, games or playing outside he just shrugs his shoulders and doesn't care. Where my seven year old has things that he does not what takin away from him. I do stick to the grounding but I don't think it phases him in the least.

One thing that did work for me at that age was counting to three. They knew when I hit three they were done and sitting in the corner until further notice. Come to think about it that really never worked with my youngest either because he would just sing or pick at things and end up sitting there even longer. Good luck I know how frustrating raising kids can be at times.

[penguinmama]

Consistency is the key... if the child understands that *this is how it is and it never changes* then they will not push as hard because they will know there is no point to it.

[violet1]

Once they do hit two, the stubbornness gets worse and if you're not careful and you give in, they will find a way to exploit your weakness . One thing that has worked for us is taking a toy away. Our son is three, but he still doesn't get the concept of "not getting to do something," so if I were to threaten him by saying "You won't get to go to the park, or watch Bob the Builder," etc. he doesn't really get that.

But he certainly understands when he loses his trucks, footballs or toy golf clubs. This might be something to try as your little one gets older.

[Stephanie2377]

Originally Posted by violet1

Once they do hit two, the stubbornness gets worse and if you're not careful and you give in, they will find a way to exploit your weakness . One thing that has worked for us is taking a toy away. Our son is three, but he still doesn't get the concept of "not getting to do something," so if I were to threaten him by saying "You won't get to go to the park, or watch Bob the Builder," etc. he doesn't really get that.

But he certainly understands when he loses his trucks, footballs or toy golf clubs. This might be something to try as your little one gets older.

Thanks for the info! We actually take things away now, but mostly for throwing. He loves to throw EVERYTHING. Just this morning, he was throwing the drumsticks from his music set. I got on his level, and told him that drumsticks are NOT for throwing. They are for playing on his drum. I brought him to the drum, and got him to bang. I then told him that if he threw them again, I was taking the drumsticks away. If he wanted to throw, get a ball. He then dropped the sticks and started playing with his basketball.

So, it was a mixture of redirection and the warning of what would happen if his behavior continued.

We try to be as consistent as possible, even when we want to avoid the scene. This morning, the last thing I wanted to do was put him in timeout. But, after a warning, he shoved me and shouted "NO!" So, into timeout he went. He doesn't budge, which is great! And, we are very consistent.

[destiny]

Originally Posted by penguinmama

Consistency is the key... if the child understands that *this is how it is and it never changes* then they will not push as hard because they will know there is no point to it.

Very true. I think it's vital to have thought out "the plan" before you need it for the first time. If we change it, they always notice. If one "toy theft" from another child gets a time out and another gets just something like "give that back" without the time out, they're going to notice.

[Jennykins]

Originally Posted by penguinmama

Consistency is the key... if the child understands that *this is how it is and it never changes* then they will not push as hard because they will know there is no point to it.

couldn't agree more!
my daughter is 16 months and really knows what she wants when she wants it!
my husband and i have to be really firm with her so she doesn't step out of line.

[fldasha]

I am really grateful to read your experiences here. My daughter is only 13 months old and I can't think of any great idea to discipline her.

She has started to complain when we will interrupt with her. She would squeal really loud if we will get the thing she is playing on. We would always say "No, no, no" and I can see that she can understand it so she would stop for a while but will get back to it again later.