How to dicipline a 16 month old.?

Question

My 16 month old has, like most kids, starting throwing tantrums. She will smack and on some occasions even bitten the couch out of frustration. When she does this I usually tell her no firmly and walk her to the corner and make her sit for 1min. Is this over her head or should I continue this discipline

Answer 1

Set aside all the liberal bull and spank the kid.

Answer 2

Firm discipline is needed for children but I think you're doing a good job to control the kid's temper tantrums. Another thing that works is a little pat or a light smack on the hand or something but I recommend this only if they're about 2.

I would continue doing what you have been doing as it is effective. Also as needed you may need to be firm at times.

Answer 3

It sounds like you are doing the right thing. That's about what I did with my now 21 month old.  I set a timer (she seems to get it).

Some people will say they are too young to understand, but if she is stopping the behavior I think she gets it :)

Good luck.

Answer 4

So many people think that children under 2 don't understand discipline but they do and if you don't start early with telling her no and making her see that certain behaviors are not OK, they will only escalate. And that's an embarrassment for you when she's pitching fits in public and may make it hard for you to find a babysitter (even if it's just on occasion) or day care if she's not disciplined at least somewhat.

If it is working, if her tantrums stop and she goes about her business without another one, I'd say stick to them. It may at some point seem worse. She may decide to test you and scream and kick while she is in the corner or even try to get out but as long as you make sure she understands that she can't behave like that and take her back to the corner until she has fulfilled a full minute there, things will settle down eventually and she'll move on to doing something else 'rotten'. ;-)

Also, if she has a toy in her hand and is hitting that against something or is pitching the fit because a toy isn't doing what she wants it to (say the triangle won't fit into the square area and she gets overly frustrated before trying to fit it elsewhere and starts hitting the toy, even after you have shown her where it actually fits) take the toy away from her as well and tell her when she has calmed down, you will give her the toy back.

Answer 5

I think it sounds like you're doing the right thing. I always heard 1 minute per year of age, so it sounds like a good plan. I'm sure she'll start to understand soon, and you don;t sound like you're too harsh.

Answer 6

young children (16mths old) throw tantrums out of frustration - because they are unable to do something they want to - i.e they can't understand why the square cube doesn't fit in the circle slot. Advice I was given was to ignore these tantrums and let them get it out of their system - this has worked so far.Usually within a couple of minutes my son has forgotten what the crying was for - in these instances i think it is wrong to discipline as they are just frustrated with the world.  It is different however if you have said no to something for example and they chose to ignore you  - my son refused to sit in his highchair the other day - and wanted to eat elsewhere.  After 40 minutes of persevering he finally sat in the chair and ate breakfast - since then he goes in it no bother. the key is once you have made a decision, you have to stick to it - and make it clear that you will always win...!!!!

Answer 7

you are doing exactly the right thing... keep it up.

they understand