{ MC: Disciplining at an Early Age }

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Coming on January 5, we will discuss:

Setting goals with your children!

Now on to this week's topic!

At what age and how do you begin disciplining your babies?

Here is what Mom Connection shared:

Welcome! I'm Julie over at Naptime Review. I am a mom of 2 wild, crazy and beautiful girls. My oldest just turned 4 and my baby is 16 months old. This is how I discipline at an early age:

I actually don't. In fact, I was amazed the other day, when I was sitting around with a group of friends, listening how they implement time out with their babies. I thought, "Wow, I need to start with Alice." So when Alice turns 18 months, I do plan on getting a spot in the house and designating it as the time out area. For now, I use positive reinforcement, such as hooting and hollering when she does something right. I also make up silly songs and dances to get her to follow directions. You have never seen me so excited when she cleans up her toys or heads to the door singing, "March, March!" Besides positive reinforcement, I say "No" very sternly. No comes in handy when she is skydiving off the fireplace or jumping and landing on her bottom in the bathtub. This child is CRAZY! I foresee many trips to the ER in the near future. If saying "No" doesn't work I remove her from the situation. Unfortunately, she has a memory like an elephant so that often doesn't work. Then, I just have to ignore the tantrum that is unfolding right before me.

I really struggled with finding what motivated and worked with my 4 year old, so I am hoping God gives me a pass on this one. If not, I am well versed and educated in the area of discipline. When Averie was 2 years old, I dragged my husband to a Love and Logic seminar. If you aren't familiar with their theories and methods, I highly recommend checking them out. Click here to learn more about positive discipline methods.

Hi! I'm Cassie from Two In Diapers, and I'm a mommy to three sweet babies, ages 4, 3, and 18 months.This is how I discipline at an early age:

We begin at the age where they first learn that they can cause a reaction. I'm sure this age is different for every child, but for ours it usually begins around 6-9 months. This may sounds harsh, but we don't begin with full-on discipline. In our household, we do our best to be consistently gentle but firm {although, of course this doesn't always happen!}, which means that our baby getting into something that they aren't allowed to play with results in a gentle but firm "no-no", followed by a distraction - handing them a toy or playing a quick game of peek-a-boo. I don't know about your littles, but mine seem to be more attracted to anything that causes a big scene... hence the calm correction followed by immediately moving on from the situation.

We are also firm supporters of Love and Logic! We strongly agree with teaching the kiddos that their actions result in consequences. If Grayson purposely drops his sippy cup on the floor, he doesn't get it back until he is done eating and gets down from the table. If Bentley throws a toy, he loses that toy. We try to be as consistent as possible, which is definitely difficult at times. But we believe that calm, loving discipline can begin as soon as the baby is able to see that their actions can cause a reaction.

My name is Tricia from Mama Marchand's Nest. I am the mom of N (her name on my blog) who will be three in March. This is how I discipline at an early age:

We started disciplining N just before her 2nd birthday. I posted all about it here and to be honest, not much has changed except that now, all I have to mention is a time out and she shapes up. If she's not listening, saying no to me, or cops a 'tude, I take her to a quiet spot in our house (or a quiet corner or a bathroom if we're out somewhere) and we have a chat. We also start each day by talking about how we're going to be "kind, thankful, and happy" and what all of that means. I'm no expert and there are days when N displays her "two-ness" more than others but so far, this is what's working for us.

My name is Fotini! I blog over at Glamorous Affordable Life. I am the mom of (Isabella 19 months and Christian 6 years). This is how I discipline at an early age:

My son was a very laid back toddler, but when it was necessary to discipline I started around 2 years old. I began with time-outs (a minute for each year) and these were tricky at first, but persistence was my best friend!

To this day I do time outs with him and he takes it like a champ. Christian right now is at the stage?of beginning to talk back to us, no matter what it's about. He calls it "debating".. How my 6-year-old understands debating is beyond me, he will make a good lawyer one day ;) We do the "3 strike rule". I give him three warnings throughout the day and then it's to his room to think about why he's there. This gives him the opportunity to think about what he did and gives him the chance to not do it again. I also find that "taking away" his favorite things for a short time makes him realize that Mommy means business!

Isabella, on the other hand, is learning to test her boundaries. She's much more daring, feisty and repetitive than my son was. I feel like I'm constantly telling her "NO" and directing her attention toward something else. Do you have any good tips on "disciplining" a 19 month-old?

  My name is Kristen from The Mrs. & The Momma. I'm the momma of three girls (ages 7, 5, & 3) and a little boy (18 months). This is how I discipline at an early age:

Children at an early age know right from wrong...sort of. They know they're not supposed to put their hands in the toilet...but they still do because they need to see the cause and effect. They need to know what happens when they do ______. It's really an interesting method because they don't always expect the same outcome as a result of their actions. Up until about two years of age, it's best to just remove them from the situation after a firm but loving, "no." Around 2 years old, we employ the use of time out. (I know spanking is a touchy issue, so all I'll say is that we've chosen not to spank our children). Time out is effective especially when the child sees something they're missing out on. Sometimes I'll even make up something in which my child is unable to participate. Children hate being left out.

Thus, not only is the time out removing them from the situation, but they connect the consequence (not being able to participate) with the crime (whatever it may be). We also limit the time out for age in minutes (2-year-old time out for 2 minutes). Time out isn't the only discipline we use, but it seems to be the most effective. Disciplining is tough because all children are different, and sometimes certain consequences don't work....but it's always best to be consistent whatever your method(s) may be.

Your Turn:

At what age and how do you begin to discipline your children?

What works for you?

Leave us a comment; we love to read your tips and advice!

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