discipline (start 'em young)

Paige is 17 months old today :) at her young age she is already a handful. whew!
The family is so delighted with her and so is she to the world around her. Recently, she started throwing things,(cellphones, remote control) toys and milk bottles. She also hits us and screams when she's frustrated. Even our most dear Princess Paige can really bring out the worst in me and her dad haha!

This is not a problem though, most parents experience this stage of development in their young tots. After a lot of Paige experiments and reading from other blogs and parenting sites, I therefore conclude that, Patience pills and the following tips will help you surpass this fun but overly irritating stage.

Distract and redirect 

Calling her attention and direct it away from throwing or putting her fingers in the fan works wonders. But never forget to do it in a calm and soothing way. Shouting and abrupt taking of things will only trigger her frustration.

No is a no no

No and stop are very frustrating words for Paige, instead what I do is sing, dance and give other things to divert her attention.

Be generous in giving compliments

Every time Paige succeeds in following my instructions, we give her an array of compliments or approval. ""good girl," "very good," "I am proud of you" and "you are so beautiful" are some of the compliments that we shower her. This proves to be a motivation for she strives to get our applause too. As a bonus, Paige gives us her most endearing smile after this praises, the family is in cloud nine every time this happens.

Gentle discipline is the best

Never hit or act like you're going to hit your baby. Mostly, her actions are based on what she see in you so by doing this you are only showing them that hitting is right. In our household, what we do is accept the spank then tell her that hitting hurts. Teaching them to touch gently is a good idea too.


other good reads:

http://www.parenting.com/article/5-discipline-tricks-for-babies?page=0,0
http://hippiehousewife.blogspot.com/2011/01/gentle-discipline-for-babies.html
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/resolution-not-conflict/201110/discipline-babies-and-toddlers