Discipline tactics for a stubborn 2.5 year old?

I am having the exact problem with my 2.5 yr old daughter too! No form of discipline works with her. When my son was 2, he was difficult, but NOTHING like this little princess...Although, I do also have a 4 month old...which plays a big part in it, i'm sure!

She's driving me to drink!

One thing that keeps her a little more manageable is taking her to the park and letting her burn off some of that energy. Of course, it always leads to a battle once it's time to go home but she's tuckered out and usually sleeps well...not always though.

Also, gramma takes her for one night a week because they have a special bond (and to keep my sanity)...but when it's time to go home, it's never pretty!

Maybe yours needs a change of scenery...They're lucky they're so cute....

I have a 4.5 year old son and I have had this battle since he was about 2.5 years. I have learned to give him chores and take away his most prized toys and shut him in his room until he can be good. I also put him in a martial arts and that has REALLY helped and all the sports I can think of. I have learned that usually kids act out because they are bored even if they have all the toys in the world he may be bored. Is he the only child? Maybe look into a part time preschool/daycare type so he can be around other children I did that as well it gave him and I both a break. Good luck :)

I would stick with the time outs only. Spanking can cause him to be more aggressive. My son would MUCH rather be spanked than be in time out. To a 2 1/2 year old 2 minutes is a lifetime. lol If he acts up in time out I keep him there until he calms down then he appoligizes and gives hugs. If after that he acts up again (he likes to throw his toys) then that toy is taken away for the rest of the day. After a toy ar 2 are taken away he gets the picture and stops throwing them. He is also not so nice with our cat and dog. If he is mean to them I give him a warning. If he does it again I put the animals in my room so he can't "play" with them. Just find out what motivates him. If it's a toy, your attention, whatever. Don't give bad behavior attention. I ignore tantrums. That's my experience anyway. Hope this helped! :-)

Sounds a lot like me when I was a kid. No matter what my parents did though, I'd always be stubborn and make it a priority to get my way when I was that age. I loved climbing, too. Spanking didn't teach me anything, and taking toys away will probably make her try and make you feel guilty also. Maybe show her why it's not a good thing to crawl on counters? Tell her how she could possibly hurt herself and scare her into not getting into harmful situations. That's what finally made me stop climbing! Show her that falling on your backbone could cause paralysis. Real stubborn kids will almost always stay stubborn. If she's climbing on counters to reach something, tell her that if she asks, you'll get it for her. Good luck.

I would stick with the timeouts and spankings. He is probably just going through the terrible two's, but he needs to know he can't act like that.

Don't change the way you discipline him, he will eventually grow out of it.

They don't call them the terrible twos for nothing! Different children respond to different forms of discipline. That being said, I don't agree with spanking children, but there are many other techniques available to you, which can help modify your sons behavior.

Setting boundaries for your toddler is crucial to enforcing discpline. Here's how. One minute you're nurturing a tiny baby, then suddenly you're dealing with a toddler who needs to start learning how and (more importantly) how not to behave. Toddler discipline? The two words just don't go together, do they?

Getting your toddler to behave has nothing to do with punishment. Child clinical psychologist Dr Angharad Rudkin says, ‘Discipline is about teaching children what is acceptable behaviour and what isn't.

By the age of two, toddlers will understand what you're telling them much more and be able to express themselves better. ‘So you can say to your toddler, "I'm telling you not to jump off the sofa so you don't hurt yourself,"' says Dr Rudkin. ‘But they are hitting the "terrible twos", so remember it's an important part of their development to push boundaries.'

The terrible twos seems to cause a lightbulb to go on above a toddler's head and they realise, ‘Hey, I don't actually have to do anything Mummy tells me.' They are now aware that they are a separate person with their own agenda. Great for their development, but not so great for your stress levels!

Now's the time to find out how to control your toddler. Yep, you've guessed it - cue the naughty step. ‘By two, you can start using the naughty step for two minutes - a minute for each year of their age,' says Dr Rudkin. ‘But you will have to sit beside them.'

The tactic works well for Linda Baseley, 38, from Bracknell, Berkshire, with her daughter Millie, 2½. ‘I tell her, "Mummy's putting you on the naughty step because you pulled everything out of the cupboard when I'd asked you not to." She sits there and says "I'm sorry, Mummy," without me having to ask her.

‘I've been doing it for a few months and it works well. I used to have to sit next to her but now she will usually stay there by herself. It's funny when she orders her brother Jamie, who's 7, on to the naughty step!'

Pick your battles, too. Rather than spending all day every day saying 'No' and 'Don't do that', choose a few golden rules like not allowing your child to do anything that could be harmful, not hurting other people and learning to say please and thank you. Let the little stuff go for a while.

Don't forget to enjoy your toddler. It sounds obvious, but how often have you got through a day dealing with toddler discipline, navigating tantrums, mealtimes, clearing up a trail of havoc, only to realise you didn't have much fun together. Those sort of days can feel like an endurance test and you're hanging out for their bedtime. It's a cliché, but those precious early years really do go so fast and having fun is what a toddler does best - so join in!

Most importantly, you've got to be a good role model, without this your toddler discipline may fail. ‘Lead by example,' says Dr Rudkin. ‘If you tell your toddler not to hit other people, you can't then smack them. Make sure you give them plenty of praise and rewards for behaving well. Disciplining works best in the framework of a loving, nurturing family so they feel safe.'

hit him until; he cries