Advice on discipline
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@Zuhra Thank you,
Normal for both you and your daughter. I try to have a consequence in mind when I tell my daughter something - if she’s misbehaving with a toy I’ll tell her stop that, if she keeps doing it I’ll say stop that or I’ll take the toy away. If she were touching the toilet maybe I’d say stop that or I’m going to take you to different room
My son is 21 months and he’s definitely in his testing boundaries era too, and it’s rough! And my husband leaves to work at 5am so feel you there🥲 I try to follow the “don’t repeat yourself more than twice” rule, meaning if you’ve said something twice then the third time you physically intervene and remove them (like taking your daughter away from the toilet and closing the bathroom door). This is how they learn your words have meaning and that you will follow through on what you say. I don’t believe that there’s any magical discipline solutions tho, toddlers are gonna keep being toddlers. We just gotta stay consistent even when it’s hard. I definitely slip up and shout sometimes too tho! I try to always apologize when that happens. I tell him I’m sorry I shouted, I was feeling frustrated but shouting is not ok. This also helps to model to them that we say sorry when we’ve made a mistake. I think it’s natural to make mistakes, we’re only human. Patterns over perfection, always❤️
Most probably you do that already but I always tell her why I don’t want her to do something. (Don’t touch the toilet because it’s dirty. Don’t climb here because you will slip and have big bubu) toddlers are smarter than we think they are. I try not to say just ‘no‘ or ‘stop’ otherwise those words will loose their power when used too often. I also have a pretty well behaved girl and not a boy. I think boys are very different and more adventurous 😥😓 expecting now a boy so we will see how that goes 🤪😓
Thank you to everyone for yall advice it means so much!
& yess @Rochel I apologize right after as well saying I'm sorry mommy is tired & you're still a toddler but we will get through this, this is my first child but used to work at a daycare but it's totally different than having your own , but I'm grateful to know I'm not alone 🫶🏾
Be patient with yourself too, we're all learning. I've been watching a child specialist give talks on the toddler stage (16 to 36 months). Yes they're smart, but they lack all the cognition. She basically says to just tell them no and redirect them to something else. You don't need to explain. And you'll have to do this over and over. They need the repetition. I do this with mine. It's more hands on, but slowly she's getting it. I get frustrated too, we're right there with ya, Mama!
It is difficult to stay calm and not 5 when toddlers are being toddlers and exploring their boundaries and what they can/ can not do. Try to change your tone, and sound more firm while asking your toddler not to do something that they are not supposed to. Yelling at children because you feel helpless in certain situations is normal. We all struggle to keep calm every day. Hope it helps.