How To Discipline A 2 Year Old
Do you have a two year old, or a little one close to that age?
Experienced any tantrums, kicking, screaming or defiant behavior?
Any good parent is always going to think about the best ways on how to discipline a 2 year old.
You don’t ever want to go to far, but you don’t want to be a push over either.
image via Wikipedia
Been There, Done That
Sometimes you might hear … “OoohhHoo she is well behaved” or “He is just adorable” – Right, have you ever got that?
Meanwhile your internal thermostat is rising thinking…. if you only knew how he acted at home (or even 10 minutes ago).
If someone hasn’t had their own kids or it’s been a dinosaurs age since they had a toddler, they just don’t get it.
In a lot of cases, if a two year old is out of control it isn’t always the parents fault. There are plenty of things goin’ on in that toddler brain – I’m talkin’ changes by the milli-second type of stuff here.
The big thing is that it’s important to discipline a 2 year old child. You don’t want to be that parent with the wild animal on the loose or constantly deal with never ending battles a home.
If you always let your toddler get their way – or worse yet…. get away with everything (you know: bad behavior, talking back, hitting, saying no to you… ) there’s a good chance that your child will carry over some very bad habits and unacceptable behaviors into their teens and even adulthood.
It’s Crunch Time
Most parents would have little problem disciplining their children. The problem surfaces it’s ugly head when you try to discover the best way to carry out the action….
Conflicting information runs wild on the internet. Have you seen it???
check this out…
Question:
” My son climbed up on the kitchen table and dropped my favorite glass vase to the floor. It’s a family treasure, and now it’s gone forever. I told him that doing that was wrong to do and he needed to go to his room. He began kicking and screaming and told me I – your bad mommy, I don’t want to – I didn’t feel like dealing with it and had to clean up the mess. I just let him watch TV after that.” What can I do????
Reply:
“Sorry for the loss of your family vase. It may have been a little harsh to try to send him to his room. It may be best to let him know that you love him very much, give him a hug, and Mommy is sorry for being mean. Next time let’s try to be more careful so this doesn’t happen again.”
We dug this up while doing some of our research.
Are You Serious
Yes, this is the kind of GARBAGE that floats around out there. Unfortunately, we’ve found the polar opposite type of advice, something to the effect of “make sure he can’t sit for a week” type of comments.
In most situations having a cool head and taking yourself outside of the situation first is the best first course of action. Lashing out or reacting to your first feelings may not lead to the desired outcome.
When cooler heads prevail, discipline appropriately according to what has happen.
Little Mind Readers
We should all know that discipline doesn’t always have to relate to the hardcore or extreme areas.
Sometimes the little things that go relatively unnoticed deserve your attention and a course of discipline should be used … but in a special way 
Toddlers are very perceptive, and they can easily condition a parent like yourself to accept their mischievous actions.
Hold on here – you mean that my child could be manipulating me!!!
Bingo
Some children do things deliberately or even make mistakes on purpose to see how you’ll react.
Here’s an example:
Your 2 year old may intentionally spill his food on the floor to study how you’ll react and what you’ll do.
In this situation, many parents would react by telling their child not to do that anymore and then clean up the mess themselves. This isn’t the best course of action.
In this case, it’s better to have your toddler help you clean up the mess. They can then learn that every action does have a consequence. They will soon realize that spilling food on the floor isn’t something that they want to keep doing.
Some child discipline experts state that it’s not necessarily the method used that is so important, rather being consistent in with what actions you take.
If you punish your child today for a certain bad behavior and then let them get away with the same behavior the next time, the mixed signals can be confusing. Just remember that once you have decided on a course of action that is bad, you need to stay consistent with that course of action.
Being a parent is one of the greatest gifts that you could ever receive, but it can also be one of the hardest and most demanding jobs you will ever have.
Don’t be afraid to disciple your 2 year old. It shows that you care. About them and their future.
Just be sure that when you decide on what type disciple should be carried out, you have a cool head and that the punishment should fit the crime.