Scheduling Toddlers/Toddler Tips/Potty Training

#5 Be consistent.

If after a week of constant accidents. Take a break and try again later.

There is no perfect time to be potty trained.  If it isn't working or you feel defeated. Stop.
Try again in a few weeks.

Maybe the break will give them the time to let it soak in. You might be surprised that after the "break" they will be the ones who start initiating potty talk and potty time.

If there are any more questions please feel free to email me or leave a comment! :)

Scheduling Toddlers/Toddler Tips

Redirection and Disciplining Babies 
Babies are little people that look to their parents and caregivers for guidance and boundaries. Any child needs boundaries. Boundaries define the limits of appropriate actions for the child. A child does not feel safe unless they have safe limits shown to them.

1. Babies are not born knowing how to redirect themselves. The child has the need to be shown from infancy on into their teen years how to redirect their actions and behaviors toward outlets that are safe for them.

When a baby is doing something that is dangerous to them, or playing with something that they are not supposed to get into, redirect them to a safer activity, or toy.

2. Help them with the appropriate activity or toy for ten seconds.

3. This is the amount of time a baby usually needs to forget the inappropriate toy or activity that they were doing.

4. Then you may walk away.

5. The baby has thus been successfully redirected!

This action will need to be repeated several times a day until the baby understands that certain things are off-limits. It may take only once with some babies, but more often than not the redirection will need to be done several times a day for each inappropriate activity or object the baby desires. It takes more effort to redirect a baby, than it does to smack their hands, but the rewards are greater with the redirection. Not only does the baby then experience no physical pain, but they also will learn something that will be very valuable to them the rest of their lives. They will eventually learn to redirect themselves and will not need intervention on the part of the parent or caregiver quite as often, and will be easier to deal with than the child who has had their hands smacked. Smacking a child’s hands is just suppression of behavior, redirection makes a child think.

Source: Essortment Home

Scheduling Toddlers/Toddler Tips

Disciplining the 3 year old.  I don't like the term "spirited" because it means bad.  My 3 year old isn't bad, she is just different. She is wired differently than the rest of us.  For the most part she needs things explained differently for things to work for her. She is less obedient then my 4 year old and 2 year old. But---she is starting to make the change.

What works for me is the fuzzy ball system.

Every time she does something good or something without asking she gets a ball in her box.  Once she gets 10 balls she gets to pick a piece of paper from the bag.  I don't believe she should get a toy or something like that EVERY TIME she is good. She has to earn her special reward for the day.

Some examples of the paper rewards are stay up 10 minutes past bedtime, or a special treat.  I have 15 different things to choose from. Each day is different. She doesn't always get 10 balls and sometimes when she is sooooo close she will ask if there is something SHE can do to earn more balls.

Instead of focusing on her bad behavior I have rewarded good behavior.  She gets a ball for sharing or playing nicely etc.  Chores completed without help or reminder get balls too.  I have seen such a change in her behavior because she is getting MORE attention because she is good.

If she is not being good or is having a hard day she loses balls.  At the end of the day when we count them she will tell her daddy what she got them for.  "I got the red one for following directions the first time" etc.

It is so easy and fun for her and I don't have to fight her anymore.  The other kids cheer her on...its pretty funny.

Scheduling Toddlers/Toddler Tips

Discipling Toddlers---2

The 4 year old in my home is VERY obedient. He often cries because he feels like he isn't doing enough or that he knows what he was doing/did was wrong. So for him it's not so much discipline more explaining things to him.

I lay out the rules for him and he pretty much follows directions.  If he needs a time-out I usually send him to his room for a cooling off period.  For him - he needs consistency.  If I find that he needs something other than 5 minutes in his room I will give him a task to complete.

Here is a typical convo:

Me - L please stop yelling at your sisters

L - I wasn't yelling.

Me - Are you yelling at me now?

L - Yes. 

Me - Okay, you need to go to your room for 5 minutes to cool off.

L - I don't want to go to my room.

Me - I don't want you to yell and you did.  The consequence for that is time in your room.

L - Okay.

If there is a fit I usually will ask him to go to his room and clean it up and when he is done he may come out.

My kids don't have toys in their rooms so they can't go up to play they have to sit on their bed and literally cool off.

This form of discipline only works on him and my 2 year old.  She seems to be a lot like him in temperment and demeanor.  

When my 2 year old is "naughty" I send her to her room and she goes --- she cries the entire time but she goes.  I also give them a warning. "If you keep throwing your toys you will have to go to your room"

That usually gets them to stop. Also taking the toy away works too.

In our house we also have a Toy Jail.

If a toy gets taken away for not sharing or because they weren't playing with it correctly it gets taken away to toy jail.  It is in there for the rest of the day and the next day can be earned back by doing an extra chore or something we talk about together.

With the 4 year old and the 2 year old ---Warning them one time with a notification of the consequence gets them to stop USUALLY.

Next week - discipling TROUBLE, I mean the 3 year old. :)

What is something you do in your home?  Lets get the chat going!