Toddlers are at that age where things can quickly become a battle of wills. Before you even know what’s happened, you find yourself in a power struggle. As much as raising a well-behaved and well-mannered toddler is important, achieving it is something else and you may feel like you’ve tried everything. This article is going to look at 6 tips to help you when disciplining your toddler.
Consistency is key
When it comes to disciplining your child, you need to remain consistent. It may be that a particular behaviour will take a while to get out of their system, but don’t let your reprimands slide. Keep on top of what you want to achieve and ensure that you’re consistent with what you deem acceptable.
Keep emotion out of it
Screaming, shouting or getting angry will only work to diminish the message you’re trying to get across to your toddler. On the other hand, remaining in control can seem like an impossible task but it’s incredibly important. Your toddler will often try to test you and you can’t let it show that they’re getting under your skin, otherwise it will only encourage them.
Positivity is important
Try and stay positive when disciplining your toddler. Whatever you do, don’t vent about your frustration in front of them. That’s not to say you can’t get frustrated, after all, it is bound to happen. But just choose carefully who you talk to about it.
The other side of this is that you need to regularly offer praise to your child. This encourages them to understand what is accepted as good behaviour. Considering they’ll be wanting to please you, the reinforcement of the praise will go further in making them feel like they’ve done well.
Follow through with the consequences
Disciplining your toddler is about meaning what you say. If you provide your child with an ultimatum and state the consequences, be sure to follow through with the punishment. If you don’t, you run the risk of your words losing their meaning.
Take it away
In some situations, you just can’t win. If you find yourself in this kind of scenario where your child just won’t behave, then remove them completely. Offering fair warning is important to give them the opportunity to rectify their behaviour but as with all punishments, if you say you’ll take them away then actually do it.
For example, if you’re on a playdate and your child won’t share. Provide them with the option to either share the toys or go home. If they still won’t share, then the only option is to take them home.
Give them options
Toddlers are in and amongst a tumultuous time and more often than not, they’re trying to assert their independence. To avoid disciplining your toddler, give them options. Allow them to have some form of control over their day and make the choice themselves. This will not only make them feel more independent, but it’s likely to avoid poor behaviour as well.
Resources:
http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/discipline/tips/7-tips-for-disciplining-your-toddler/
http://www.todaysparent.com/toddler/toddler-discipline/
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