As Lucas gets older there are so many fun things that happen. We can do fun stuff, he can tell us what he's sees. We get to see his likes and dislikes. He makes us laugh, he laughs. There are a ton of great things about him getting older. But.... (of course there had to be a but, the post is called disipline) he is starting to find us saying no or yelling to be funny.
Generally Lucas is a great listener. He has a certain degree of fear of "scary things". For example he will always hold my hand while crossing the street becuase "cars coming". He'll always ask me: Mommy ready, before he jumps off the couch in my arms. He is "careful" of the oven or bees. But now when he does something and he thinks it's funny even if we say no, he'll still laugh. For example, he'll throw water out of the tub, and we'll say no, he'll still laugh, thinking it's funny. Darn! Now I have to figure out how to disipline my kid. Does anyone have any advice? Is he too young for time outs?
Onto the next stage......
Till Tomorrow
Jenn
5 comments:
Daniel isnt allowed to touch certain stuff but he sometimes thinks its funny I smack his hand I dont like too but he has to learn
In my experience, kids can read us like an open book. Often when kids have done something "bad" we as adults find it funny. Let's face it, kids are hilarious (even when they're bad)! Whatever they've done (like throwing water out of the tub) isn't behaviour that we condone but it's still funny. Kids thrive on positive feedback so if your mouth is saying no but your facial expression and body language indicate that you're amused, kids can't help but want to amuse you so more!
Try to find a tone of voice within yourself that your child wouldn't hear on a regular basis, like the voice Darryl uses when he disciplines Emma. He could say "I love you Emma" but if he does it in his "discipline voice" all Emma hears is "Bad Emma, don't do that again".
Mackenzie always seemed to know that when I deepened my voice, spoke in harsh tones and used her full name that she was in hot water. Maybe you'll find that Lucas will learn the same thing.
And no...he's not too young for time outs!
Good luck!
Lori
Happy Mothers Day Jenn
It's been hard for me. Especially keeping a straight face. I think Lori was right on in the facial expression, body language and tone of voice. It does work wonders. The problem is that you have to be consistent, and I have a problem with that part of it.
Good luck - I am sure you'll get it. Hope you had a great mother's day.
Personally, no. I don't think that Lucas is too young for time outs as long as they are used constructively. I started putting my son in time outs at around 18 months when we started on issues such as biting, pinching, throwing things or generally not listening. After a while, timeouts meant nothing to him, so now he gets the five count. If I get to five, he usually loses a privilege on something that is precious to him: hockey sticks, baseball bats, playing outside, watching a Diego show etc. But after every time out or lost privilege, I always scoop him up, tell him why it was wrong and then give him a big kiss and telling him that Mommy loves him but he needs to listen to Mommy (and/or Daddy). That we ask or tell him to do things for a reason, usually to be safe.
Good luck. Disciplining children is very difficult for many parents.
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