I have a 2yr & 3yr old who just will not listen. i’ve tried talking, time-out, standing in the corner,spanking, and so much more. nothing seems to work, or if it does it only lasts for a few minutes and they are right back to acting up. PLEASE HELP!!
#1 by Bubbly21 on February 11th, 2011
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I have a 1 and 2 yr old and I have noticed that when they are acting up i just hug them and talk to them in a soft voice like distract them and they will forget or try playing with them take their mind off of the tantrum
#2 by hathor728 on February 11th, 2011
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There is no “miracle discipline”, but try to avoid anything that inflicts physical pain, for that will make them hate you; nobody wants that! Try taking away priveledges or lectures. Don’t freak yourself out! Toddlers are just crazy like that, they’ll grow up.
#3 by podgymagoo on February 11th, 2011
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ok what bubbly said is sooooooooo not the answer.
by hugging them you might temporarily distract them, but you are also reinforcing that the behaviour is not bad, that its not punishable and therefore they are not learning anything valuable.
it is basic psychology.
the theory of classical conditioning. read up about it if you don’t know what it is.
basically good things get rewarded. bad things have punishment consequences.
encourage the good, like i read before, instead of saying ‘don’t jump on the bed’ suggest that the right thing to do is ‘feet on the floor. floor is for jumping. bed is for sleeping’
also: like someone suggested before, teach them positive things, for example if they pull the cats or dogs tail don’t tell them off, show them (interactively) how to pat the cat nicely.
also: reward the good behaviours. lots of praise. change the tone of your voice too. they won’t notice the difference between right and wrong unless you use your voice.
with the talking, make sure you are down low on their level. keep it simple and use words they will understand.
#4 by little star on February 11th, 2011
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Kids get “parent deaf” in response to lectures, nagging, empty threats, and ultimatums and yes we’ve all done this. Try some of these ideas.
Give them choices WHENEVER you ask them to do something and let them deal with the natural consequences of their choices. You can have quiet time for 30 minutes smiling, or 1 hour crying and fussing. (if they don’t respond choose for them).
State the rules “when”___”then”. (like “When your toys are picked up then you can go outside to play… “)
Time-out. Let them sit until THEY think they are calm again. Ask them how they are going to keep this from happing again. Over time this helps them learn self-control. (how are you going to stop hitting? I’ll grab my blankie every time I get mad. Okay nice plan, your time out is over…)
If you want more ideas for specific behaviors, email me.