Toddler Discipline

There are many ways to discipline your toddler. I am all about positive discipline. This simply means kindly and gently guiding them and teaching them. I don't want to get caught up in the moment and loose control and take it out on my child. We are the adults and we actually have the ability to control our emotions, where as a small child has not yet learned self control. Make out a plan and stick to it, so when your child misbehaves it's not you acting like a two year old! LOL!

I have read MANY books on positive discipline. I enocurage you to do the same if your not sure what you want to try. There are lots of great resources out there on how to be loving to our children and guide them in a kind mannar. They are people to and deserve a certain level of respect to.

Discipline: To guide, to teach

I am a firm believer in time outs. Will they work right away? Probably not. It takes some patience on your part to find a time out method that will work for you. What I do is this: I put my toddler in his room for his time outs. I have a child saftey lock over his door knob so that he cannot get out. This was mainly for when we switched him to the toddler bed and didn't want him roaming the house at night. His crib was the original time out. I give him about 2 minutes in his room. Be sure to tell him why he is getting a time out. He is usally crying and screaming, but I stand firm and wait. When I go back in his room I squat down to his level and say "Okay, what did you do wrong?" if he cannot answer it, help him. Be calm and loving! Then ask him why is it wrong? Explain if they do not know. Then have them repeat it back to you. Our most common: "No hit", "No throw", ect. Then I give him a hug and kiss and let him know that I love him. This builds up his self esteem and lets him know that your not mad at them. We don't want to belittle our children and break them down. Build them up and let them know you love them.

PREVENTION

You can prevent most bad behavior. Yes, it's true! You need to first address "WHY" is he acting out? In most cases they simply want attention. We get so busy in our day that we sometimes forget to have that one on one time with them. This is SO important. You should try to have some one on one time with your toddler at least once an hour. AT LEAST! Sometimes when I'm doing dishes and getting lunch ready I go over this hour mark. He's playing by himself with his toys, but then gets bored. He needs some attention and to get it? He acts out, so is it really his fault? Yes and no, but my point is if we try harder to give them the attention they need then they won't try to get it in a negative way. Make sense?

Other things that will help your child behave through out the day?

*Exercise - Get your child moving! Let him run outside and get some fresh air! They are a bundle of energy and this is a great way to release that energy in a positive way!

*Learning - Teach your children! Get that brain working! Teaching them is a great way to get that one on one attention in. They LOVE to learn! It's good to get the motors running in their heads. There are so many positive benefits to this that I can't name them all.

*Creativity - Get out the crayons, paint, whatever you have. They need to express themselves in a creative way. Let them do it. I like to do these types of activities in the high chair to "contain" the mess! This is another great outlet for them and also another opportunity for one on one time.

*Contribution - They want to feel like they contribute to the family. They want to feel important. They want to help! LET THEM! Give them a task they can do to help around the house and use a sticker chart to praise them. This is a great confidence builder. Use it! It can be as simple as passing dishes to you from the dishwasher (my son started this at 24 months!) to picking things up in bins around the house. Be patient with them and let them do it. I know you can do it 10 times faster, but that's not the point here.

With these usefull tools in hand I can bet you that your toddler will misbehave about 75% less than they do now. It only takes a few days of using the steps above to see a difference in your child. Your child is growing person. They need all these things to build them into respectful young adults that come out in the end with a high self esteem!

Books I love:

The Happiest Toddler on the Block (though I don't do "toddlerease")

Your Child's Self-Esteem

 

How To Raise Emotionally Healthy Children: Meeting The Five Critical Needs of Children...And Parents Too! Updated Edition

 

This last one is my FAVORITE book!!! All parents should read this. It's only $2.99 on Kindle! VERY good read!