Discipline for Toddlers
Saturday March 1, 2008
When I worked with toddlers in child care, one of the easiest discipline methods for me was ignoring. Not really ignoring, but that special kind of ignoring that you do out of the corner of your eye so that the child involved thinks you aren't paying any attention. And once they believe you aren't paying any attention, they usually stop doing whatever it was that was so bothersome or unacceptable.
Then I had my son. And unlike any child I ever had in any of my classes, he really knew how to push my buttons. And suddenly the hardest thing in the world for me to do was ignore his behavior when it mattered most. It took a good long while before I realized that my engaging him in a power struggle was making some of his behavior worse! Once I realized this, the ignoring worked. Until he turned 3. Then he was on to me and I had to try something else. Kids are not all the same and you'll find that what worked last month may not work today. You can use some of these toddler discipline methods to remain flexible to your child's needs.
Got a toddler discipline tip? Please share it with your fellow parents in the comments below.
Comments
I tried the naughty chair on my two year old. After an hour and a half he did seem to get it. We’ve tried it one time since then and it seemed to get the point across. I wrote about my experience with it in my blog. It’s kinda funny.
http://www.kdbabyneeds.com//eric-van/feb-10-tried-the-naughty-chair-on-my-2-year-old.html
I have a few things that worked with my daughter and posted them on my blog. This one was how I get her to cooperate, basically laying out the plan to avoid potential tantrums and the need for a time out http://amomsblog.wordpress.com/2008/02/07/get-your-toddler-to-cooperate/
and this is how I get her to brush her teeth http://amomsblog.wordpress.com/2008/02/04/get-your-toddler-to-brush-her-teeth/
I have a few tips posted on my blog as well. http://amomsblog.wordpress.com/category/infanttoddler-articles/infanttoddler-behavior/
I give my grandson 2 choices which both are my ideas, but good safe ones. He gets to chooses which one he would like.
One method that was used in my Grandsons class – he is two and a half -there is a happy and sad face – when he acts up we show him that we are sad – he stops and gives us a hug – then he says happy.
HI
I have a 31.5 month old little girl named Elon and she is more than a handful for me. She is extreamly bright and I often wonder if that is why she is SO very busy! Nothing seems to work with her except time outs. They don’t work every time but, she seems to not want a time out the most. I know I feed into her tantrums more than I should but, I just can’t seem to ignore her sometimes when I should be ignoring her bad behavior. I have other children who are no longer at home and I swear I didn’t have the same problems diciplining them. HELP!?
Love and Logic has some great techniques for dealing with toddlers. The “Uh-Oh” song works well for me…and giving choices. The book “Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood” is really helpful! You can find it at http://www.loveandlogic.com.