Parenting Tips: How to Discipline Your Toddler

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One of the roles of parents is to discipline their children and teach them how they can be in their best behavior at all times. Each parent has a different style, but one thing that all parents need to successfully discipline their child is patience.

Disciplining your little one means that you need to set some ground rules in order to prevent your child from being aggressive and doing inappropriate and dangerous things like hitting people, throwing food or running out in the street. It is also about following through the consequences of their actions if they ever break any rule. 

So how can you discipline your child properly? The American Academy of Pediatrics or AAP shared tips on how your child can be disciplined properly as they grow. The AAP highly recommends positive strategies because they can teach your children to manage their behavior effectively and it can also prevent them from being emotionally strained. 

How to discipline your toddler

The first thing that children should learn is how to handle the consequences of their actions. If they run after you told them not too and they fell and scrape their knee, do not scold them for it, instead just calmly say that the accident is the reason why you didn't want them to run around in the first place. Ignoring their bad behavior and letting them feel and go through the consequences of their actions can teach them more than just scolding and screaming at them. It is also best that you know when not to respond. 

It is also important to give your child attention because it is the most powerful tool for positive and effective discipline. If you are attentive, you can immediately reinforce their good behaviors and you can automatically discourage bad behavior. Children naturally want their parent's attention, and sometimes they do things just to get it. If they know that they have your full attention, they won't break rules on purpose. 

If your child does break rules on purpose, you need to give them consequences to show that you were not pleased and that they should not do it again. Firmly and calmly tell them about the consequences. As parents, you do not want to see your child sad or crying, so if you give consequences, you might give in and back down. But remember, this is only done in order to train them about behaving properly. 

It is also important to remember that children get bored easily, so if they start misbehaving especially at home, look for activities that they can do in order to redirect their attention. You can also call a time-out if your child misbehaves. It is also a way for them to calm down after throwing a tantrum. Time-outs are also an effective way for your child to think about what he or she did.

Things you should never do

Child psychologists discourage spanking and extreme punishments such as making your child skip a meal or locking them in their room. These tactics do not promote good behavior, aside from being emotionally scarred, children may retaliate and rebel against you instead, especially when they grow older. What you can do is instill in them the importance of good behavior and discipline, and do it as calmly and firmly as possible. 

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