In most Kenyan homes, spanking a toddler may be considered the best way to discipline a toddler. However, spanking or hitting can go overboard resulting in your child getting injured albeit unintentionally leaving you feeling worse about hurting them. Whenever, you have the urge to hit your toddler when they have done something wrong, consider taking time out to get over your feelings of anger towards them and return when you have calmed down.
Research has shown that seeking alternatives to spanking is the best way to go for parents that want to instil discipline and still have a loving relationship with their toddler. Below is a list of alternative discipline techniques to use on your toddler.
Give time out – For most toddlers being kept away from their favourite activities or toys for a while helps them calm down after a tantrum, thus making time out effective for them. It is also possible to help them connect bad behaviour with the consequence of time out so that they do their best to behave well.
Refuse to give in – In most cases, toddlers act up to force their parents to give in to their demands when indoors or outdoors. Consider, ignoring them or leaving them alone when throwing tantrums so that they can calm down. Most times, they move on to other activities after a little while.
Use diverse discipline techniques – Toddlers often repeat the same mistakes that they have just been punished for a few minutes before. At times, it can be frustrating but if you have various discipline methods in hand, you can use them to reinforce your message and get them to stop misbehaving.
