It can be a challenge to maintain discipline in young children. The fact of the matter is that, at the age of toddler and earlier, children aren’t able to communicate as effectively as they are later on. Still, it is important that parents begin to discipline their child at a young age.

When thinking about discipline and young children, it is important to think about what exactly discipline is and what discipline is not. Often, when we think about discipline, we think about punishing a child for misbehavior. While this may indeed be a part of discipline, the fact of the matter is that, especially with young children, there are more important aspects to discipline. For example, encouraging positive behavior in young children tends to be much more productive than discouraging misbehavior. In addition, even misbehavior should be seen as an opportunity to teach the young child proper behavior, and to help the child to be able to communicate more effectively.

There are some techniques that are especially effective for discipline and young children. For example, redirection is one of the best tools that a parent has in terms of disciplining a young child. When a child is engaging in an inappropriate activity, simply approach the child and redirect them to a positive activity. Modeling is another excellent discipline technique for young children. When a child is stomping on his toy, for example, you can simply tell the child, “oh no, we mustn’t step on our toys. That will make them break, and then we won’t be able to play with them. Here is how we should play with this toy,” and then pick up the toy and model the right way to play with the toy.

Perhaps the most challenging part about disciplining young children is that they have limited empathy, and a somewhat limited understanding of cause and effect. When a child hits her brother, for example, she knows that the brother screams. She may even like the sound. But she may not understand that the sound is coming because her brother is in pain. Helping children to learn empathy and to understand cause and effect is an important part of disciplining young children as well.

The time out is a discipline method that has been becoming more popular in recent years.  The fact of the matter is that, for many toddlers the time out is a very effective method of discipline.  This is not to say that the time out works for every child.  This is also not to say that, sometimes, the time out will lose its effectiveness as a method of discipline for a given child.  This only means that many parents have had success using the time out as an effective method of toddler discipline.

But why does the time out work?  Why is it an effective method of discipline?  There are several things that the time out accomplishes.  First, if the time out is given for a misbehavior, it takes the child out of the situation in which he was misbehaving, effectively putting an immediate end to the bad behavior.  Second, a time out gives the child a few minutes, undistracted by other children or other external stimuli, to calm down.  Once the child has calmed down, they are much more likely to be compliant.  But a time out does more than this.  It also allows the parents some time to calm down, and make sure that they are not disciplining out of anger.  It is because of all of these reasons that the time out tends to be an effective method of discipline.

To use a time out, you first need to pick a spot, isolated from the normal activity of your home, to use as the time out spot.  When a toddler is not compliant, give them a warning that they will go to time out if they do not comply.  Then, follow through.  If the child does not comply, tell them to go to time out, gently guiding them there if necessary.  The child then will need to stay in time out for a number of minutes equal to their years of age, after which, if they are calm and quiet, you will give them another opportunity to comply.  If they do not comply, you then send the child back to time out.

When used properly and consistently, the time out can be one of the most effective methods of discipline that you can use with your toddler.

The process of parenting a toddler that is spirited can be very much like a roller coaster, with regular ups and downs.  Some days will drain us completely, trying to avoid discipline problems and fits.  While a spirited toddler can be a tremendous joy to be around, parenting a spirited child can keep a parent on their toes, and can literally be exhausting.

The most important things to keep in mind when disciplining a spirited toddler is to try to remain proactive and positive.  If you know that a child, for example, doesn’t like to quit playing in order to come to the dinner table, try to make for an easier transition.  Let the child know when there is only 10 minutes left to play, and then when there is only 5 minutes, and then one minute.  By helping to be proactive, you can hopefully avoid some of the tension, yelling, crying, and fit-throwing that is all too common with the spirited toddler.  Keeping those transition times smooth will go a long way in helping you to discipline your spirited toddler.

Perhaps one of the best tools that parents of a spirited toddler have in terms of discipline is planning.  Always having an activity of some sort available for your spirited toddler to engage in can help him from becoming too bored.  Being bored is one of the worst things that can happen to a spirited toddler, as it will promote all sorts of aberrant behavior.

Finally, it is important to recognize that the spirited child is, most of the time, not trying to be bad.  They just have a lot of energy, and they can’t stand to be unoccupied.  Ultimately, being spirited may very well help your child when he or she grows up into becoming a productive and successful adult member of society.

In the long run, parenting a spirited toddler can be a rewarding and positive experience. Some of the most successful people start out as spirited toddlers. It’s all a matter of keeping the toddler safe and helping to direct that energy in order to maximize her odds for success and minimize your frustration level.