Dealing with toddler behavior (e.g. defiance, power struggles) can be somewhat challenging. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to improve the way you deal with this behavior and keep your child from pushing your limits.
Give Specific Guidelines for How You Want Your Child to Behave
Your child is learning what constitutes “good” or “nice” behavior. As such, it’s important for you to be specific here. Helping them understand these things encourages them to follow your directions. So, instead of simply barking out a command like, “Don’t hit!” you should say something like, “We don’t hit people because it makes them feel sad.”
Set up Clear Expectations for Your Child Ahead of Time
Children at this age are seriously lacking self-control. This is considered developmentally normal. Remember this when it’s time to remind your child of your rules. You don’t want to only do this when they’re about to break a rule. Instead, make sure your child has a clear understanding of how they should behave ahead of time.
Forget About Trivial Rules
Trivial rules will only serve to jeopardize your own sanity. These rules are also harder for your child to remember and for them to follow. This is why it’s so important for you to pick your battles. For instance, what your child wears isn’t as important as making sure they wear their seatbelt. Focus on teaching these types of safety and behavior rules then loosen up when it comes to other, superficial issues. You’ll also benefit here in another way: Research shows that children who are raised with too many rules grow rebellious later. If you avoid this, you may even be able to save yourself your sanity throughout your child’s teenage years too.
Choose a Preschool or Daycare Program That’s a Good Partner for You and Your Child
Sometimes you may need a little help from the preschool or daycare program you choose to enroll your child in. You’ll want to make sure that you choose one that teaches your child to not only respect themselves, but also to respect those around them. If you live in Mansfield, Texas you’ll find such a partner in Country Club Montessori School. Here your child will learn to respect themselves, you, their mind, what they do each day, and the other parts of their environment too. This is an option many parents have had success with and that’d be worthwhile for you to at least check out, too.
