What is the best way to punish a 2 year old?

Question

I don’t like asking this, but my son turns 2 next month and has been out of control lately. Hitting, kicking, throwing things at people. I do not and will not spank him, what should I do? He doesn’t understand time out really yet. He isn’t in a crib anymore so I can’t put him in that for timeout either. I’ve been losing patience lately. I know this comes with toddlerhood, but he needs to learn that this behavior isn’t acceptable. Especially around his newborn brother. Wanted to add that he just laughs when I tell him no or use my firm voice now.

Answer

Hitting and kicking I just remind my LO to use gentle hands and show him what gentle hands are by running his hand gently along my arm. We use a calm down spot so of he is hitting or kicking because he is frustrated or angry then we go sit down in the same spot and I wait until he stops crying and then we talk about what hands are used for. If he is hitting other kids at the park for example I make a big deal and fuss over the other child and paying less attention to my LO and then we leave and go back home. It is very important to stay calm. I learned that the hard way. The biggest thing that helped my son was me staying calm. I would gently hold his hand and just say 'I will not let you hit me' and then look away until he calms down. I also bought the book, "Hands are not for hitting" and I read it to him everyday. I hope this helps! Just be consistent and calm and your LO will eventually catch on that that behaviour is not ok. 😊

Answer

Do time in. Hold him on your lap or sit them on a chair and you kneel in front of it and count to 30, if they are still trying to leave or being abusive count again. Works well for my toddler. We are also a non violent house hold. Mostly using words to explain why something is wrong and trying to help them work threw their emotions/behaviours.

Answer

I tell my son no.  If he does it again I tell him no that he will get a timeout. Most the time he stops. But if he doesn’t he gets a timeout. 
I set him down on the couch and tell him he is in timeout. If he gets up before I say he can then I put him back.  When timeout is over I tell him calmly way he was there and have him say sorry than most the time I give him a hug. He doesn’t always want one.   I takes a little time for them to got what time out is and it doesn’t need to be for long.

Answer

Our son had to stand up to the wall with his hands on the wall and his head touching the wall for a minute. But honestly at that age spankings was the only thing that really worked.

Answer

My son is 1.5 and time outs is the method that works for him. We start by telling him no, the second time he does the action (because kids have to try again) we tell him no and name the consequence based on the action. Most of the time it’s going to his room for said amount of time. And if he does it a 3rd time we follow through. After any punishment we sit him down and talk about what happened. Everyone hugs it out and there are a lot of cuddles. But we started to “discipline” him at 8m when he was walking and trying the chew on things he shouldn’t. That being said we didn’t start with time outs and have moved through many techniques to settle on time outs and occasional swat on the butt. We are teaching him that for every action there is a reaction, sometimes good and sometimes bad. And based on his decisions he gets to choose the outcome. At this point we really only have to look at him in a stern manner or ask him if he wants to be sent to time out. 95% of the time that is enough.

Answer

I don’t have advice since my bub is only 6 months. However, there’s a great FB group - Gentle Parents Unite. They always have supportive and useful advice for similar situations.

Answer

Spanking/hitting/violence would just encourage the behavior. I would continuously be on his level to explain how this hurts (his behavior) people and the last thing we want as humans is pain. For the pain he caused, explain there are consequences like a timeout chair, a timeout corner, no sweets, no tv, no ipad, no outside, etc. Things like these could help improve his behavior. He's also probably a bit jealous of baby brother or sister so I'd include him to help with the sibling so he can feel confident about himself instead of acting out. Good luck mama!

What is the best way to punish a 2 year old?

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