When do u start to discipline your child?

[Mummy to Baby V]

My boy is 14 months old. Some things I do to handle him:
- child-proof a room: no wires within reach, covered sockets, latched drawers, latched toilet door, toys that he can play with freely -- this way, I can do my stuff while he explores freely & both of us are happy

- positive language (avoid 'No' whenever possible): helps reinforce the action I want him to do (eg. 'Put that down' instead of 'Do not touch that!'). When we say 'Do not touch', kids hear the word 'touch'!

- avoid smacking: because my boy imitated me when I tried before to see if it would work. He likes to smack (sometimes pretending sometimes for real), so I need to avoid smacking in order to teach him.

- when he smacks, show him to stroke my hand gently: when he does that, I praise him & give him a BIG hug

- use sudden, deep grunting voice when he misbehaves: he'd be shocked, stop and pout (thick-skinned boy hardly cries at such times)

The discipline method also depends on the child's character and preferred way of learning -- audio, visual, touch, etc.

 

[Dimples]

When to start disciplining a child is an interesting question. But more importantly, in my opinion, is how to discipline and to develop a happy and well behaved child. I recently came across this book by a child behavior expert and he listed a number of effective ways to discipline children. My sister-in-law actually applied them on her quick tempered 7-year-old and it's beginning to gain results. You might like to check out the book here: Happy Child E-book Form