Disciplining our babies and toddlers

Often we hear parents say that they can’t believe that their babies and toddlers understand so much, and that they are so smart.

Yet, when it comes to having to discipline our babies and toddlers, a lot of parents say, oh she/he is too young to understand that they are doing something wrong – quite a contradictory isn’t it?

Discipline does not mean being mean to babies and toddlers, but rather teaching them and giving them direction.

Here are some methods of discipline that can guide parents along.

Firstly, always reward positive behaviour! Children thrive on praise, and it also helps to develop a good sense of self confidence.

Teach your children to use good manners and to respect other children and people.

From the time our children are babies, and begin to move around and explore their environment, it is important to teach them what they can and can’t touch. This is important for safety reasons too. All we have to do is in a firm tone say “No Jack you cannot put your hands all over the television!” Move Jack away from the television and re-direct his attention on to a toy that he can play with safely. Keep repeating this to your child and eventually they will loose interest in touching things that they are not supposed to. Be consistent so that your child learns well and does not receive mixed messages.

When our children are toddlers, disciple is a real challenge. Once again always reward positive behaviour, by doing this you will encourage good behaviour, and also develop a good sense of self esteem.

Your toddler will understand if you speak in a firm tone, when teaching them that certain behaviour like aggressive behaviour or impolite behaviour is not acceptable.

Toddlers become strong willed and will try everything to fight for what they want. Re-direction is a wonderful way of moving your child’s attention on to something else, and preventing a lot of upset behaviour. Be positive and show your toddler that they can have fun with lots of different toys, teach them to take turns and share while socializing with their friends.

Time out is also successful, it does not need to be something harsh or negative .It removes a toddler from the situation, and gives them a small moment to understand that what they where doing is not right. Teach your toddler to apologize to other children for upsetting them, and once again re-direct their attention to different toys.

Discipline can be a challenge with our babies and toddlers, but be consistent and be patient, so that we can encourage our babies and toddlers to grow into happy confident children.