Parenting a toddler can be rewarding, of course. But there are times when the challenges seem to outweigh the rewards. If you are having difficulty with child discipline issues, you may not need an entire parenting course. Just a few well-chosen words, delivered lovingly (but with a plan) can start to bring your "terrible two" back to a "terrific toddler."
Use eye-contact and speak in a quiet, adult voice:When communicating, do so like you mean it! That doesn't mean yelling. Quite the opposite. How would you respond if someone told you to wash the dishes, take a bath or go to bed...while watching the game or working on the computer? Even though your child is only two, three, four or five years old, he or she wants to be communicated with directly and lovingly. Just like we do.
Cars Toddler Bed
Try one word reminders instead of drawn-out nagging: This works for husbands as well as kids...I should know. Instead of saying, "How many times do I have to tell you to put your clothes in the dirty laundry basket? It's not a hard thing to do! Everyone can do it! Why don't you ever pick up your clothes?!" A simple, one word, "Clothes," is enough to remind the child (or husband, or wife, or roommate...) what needs to be done without the rhetorical questioning ("how many times? do you really want me to count?") or drama.
As a bonus, nagging goes down. Everyone happier.
Avoid negative statements like "Don't..." , "Stop..." and "Quit..." Research has shown that all of us (toddlers, too) tend to "hear" only the end of such statements. So when we say, "Stop teasing!" the brain hears, "teasing!" You can see how this works for yourself quite simply. If I say, "don't think of a pink elephant!" your mind first has to imagine what it shouldn't be thinking of!
Instead, phrase your requests in the positive: "Play nicely, now." or "Please only walk inside the house." or a favorite in our house, "Use quiet steps."
Offer choices, but choose your choices wisely! If you say, "Why aren't you ready for bed?" you don't really need the information "why." What you want is the behavior. "Are you ready for bet yet?" has also proved to be a non-starter where I live. Instead, "before you go to bed, let's brush your teeth and then read a story together." The sequence: brush teeth, story, bed, is implied, and "Let's" really leaves little room for negotiation or nagging.
Change the focus! I used to not like this kind of communication because it felt a bit like tricking my kids. However, if you see your toddler disintegrating into a tantrum, you may best be able to defuse the situation by changing your child's mind. "I don't wanna go home!" and a battle getting into the car-seat was turned into giggles with a simple, "Hey! look at that butterfly!" Attention diverted, tantrum averted. Watch your own kids too to see how they naturally change their moods and states in the blink of an eye.
Communicating with your own kids can be one of the best parts of your day, and one of the most rewarding parts of parenthood. Using some simple parenting techniques which use advanced communication techniques, you can get back to enjoying good behavior and smooth communication with your toddler.