Becca hears the word “No!” a lot. No.. pinching, throwing, turning on (or off) the TV, putting stuff in her mouth that doesn’t belong there, sticking her feet on the table while we are eating…
And, the biggie.. No getting into the garbage. She is pretty determined about this. Moving the garbage can up higher worked for a while, until she learned how to climb up. Now, nothing stops her, and it is time to get serious about some real discipline.
Discipline is hard, especially when it is your first child. The precious tiny infant you brought home from the hospital just a short time ago is now a rambunctious toddler, into everything. This puts you in a very difficult situation. Because discipline means saying no. And that will mean tears. And tantrums. It will lead to years of teenage angst.
And it starts now.
Hurray!
We’re trying time outs. If I catch her in the garbage,I tell her no, she is lifted up, carried over to one of the chairs in the living room, and sat down. I stand in front of the chair, facing sideways away from her, for a minute and a half. After that, I will reiterate that “Garbage is a No-No!” and tell her that every time she plays in it, there will be a time out. We did this 4-5 times yesterday afternoon, and only once (so far) today. Once we have mastered this idea, I will put the garbage can back onto the floor, and see if she can keep up the good work. Hopefully, we can start working on curbing other questionable behaviors.
While time-outs may not be the best way to discipline, it does seem to be working. She doesn’t quite yet understand my explanations of why something is wrong to do, and I don’t like getting so aggravated at grabbing her away from the garbage, and everything else she is getting into, that I yell. Because then I feel really bad.
I realize that “time ins” are better than “time outs,” but there is only so far you can go with that. All the loving encouragement in the world wasn’t keeping her out of the garbage.
I would love any advice anyone has on toddler discipline. Eventually, Becca will have to learn that her opinions do not make the world go round. Learning this before we add a new member to the family is probably better than waiting until after.
So, any tips? Do you have older children? How did you/do you approach discipline?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I have our garbage locked away inside a kitchen cabinet so can’t help you too much with that one. Can say that my kids liked the attention they got from me a whole lot more then what ever it was they were getting into. It was more a game for them…a frustration for me! I started ignoring behaviours I wanted to go away. Takes self discipline but worked like a charm.
Good Luck. Toddler years are so much fun!
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Maybe you can start getting her to take out the garbage instead of getting in it. Also she’s getting a nice reaction from you by getting into the garbage so try ignoring if possible. I know it’s hard!
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So very tough, I’m really starting to despise the toddler years already, and my kiddo’s just starting them. We had a check-up at the pediatrician today, and he indicated that time-outs are the best discipline solution, in his book, for behavior that is continually repeated or for behavior that’s really heinous (like biting, hitting, etc.) He also recommended a book called “1-2-3 Magic” if discipline continues to be a challenge. I’m so checking the library for a copy right now! Good luck, and just remember it’s not just Becca – they all do this!
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Lol.. I can give her all of the time in the world, the minute my back is turned, she is determined to get into something.
And if I ignore her, she will start putting stuff from the garbage in her mouth. Eww.
Elizabeth- I’ve read that it peaks around the 18 month mark, goes for a few months, and then they are kinda normal again until around 30 months. It’s the half year areas that’ll get us.
Thank you for your advice, everyone. I’m going to try to spend some extra time with her, and ignore the behaviors that don’t involve chewing on banana peels and used tissues. I’m saving the time-outs for the big things. She hates them, but hopefully they curb a few of her more risky behaviors…