discipline

» ajalaelove - toddlers

I have a 2 1/2 year old little girl. I love her to death BUT she is terrible, she wants her way all the time, she thinks she's right all the time. When I tell her she cannot have something or she has to do something, she falls straight to the ground-even in PUBLIC. I know I'm not the only one who has a child who does this, but I don't know what to do about it, talking to her doesn't work so my husband's side of the family tells me to spank her and let her know who's boss, that has not worked so far and she throws an even worse temper tantrum than she first started out with.
What am I left to do?-HELP me
Abigail and Ajalae' at Twiggya@dellmail.com

-- posted by ajalaelove

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» Melani44 - Re: toddlers

Hiya!

I am an Early Years worker who has dealt with this quite alot...obvioulsy not with my children. But when she answers back or thinks she is right what kind of a reaction does she get from you? Young children love getting attention and like to feel in control which is why a lot of problems they have with their parents is power struggles. If when they act in this way, they get a lot of reaction from you then they are more likely to re-do the action. When she is answering back or "arguing" with you just ignore her until she has stopped. If she starts behaving how you like her to behave then praise her by saying something like "Hey I really like it when we can talk properly like this". By doing this she is getting rewarded for the good behaviour and not getting a reaction for the negative behaviour. She will soon get bored answering back or throwing tantrums if she doesn't get any attention. If she does it in public then ignore it, walk away (but close enough to keep a safe eye on her) and ignore her behaviour. I have helped many parents through issues which they have spent ages pulling their hair out over. Yes alot of people revert to smacking their children but I strongly believe that this is teaching them that violence is okay. You are role models in their lives and yet you hit people. The answer to most sitiations with children is poostive reinforcement (praise) for the good behaviour and ignoring the negative behaviour. I hope this helps in some way. If you need any more help please feel free to contact me
Mel xx

-- posted by Melani44

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