Whats the best way to disipline my 3 yr old?

First of all, take a deep breath. She is three and doing what three year olds do. Have you tried a time out chair in a boring corner?

Yelling only frustrates you more, she is tuning you out. And spanking doesn't work with strong willed children. Removing them from the situation and making life boring might work. Sit her in a chair facing the wall. Tell her over and over again in a monotone voice why she is being punished. Eventually she will get it.

I have to say that Zeldax64 pretty much hit it on the nose. Yelling doesn't work and it will eventually make the child fear you, not trust you. I have a somewhat little tantrum problem with my son(5). Taking away toys, television, and planned activities works most of the time. In today's world the technology is like gold to a child and nobody wants their gold taken. And yes when all else fails, then spanking. Discipline is important in a child's life and can be taught in many ways. Also, I can't stress enough how right she was on the coddling situation. You have to stay firm to your demands. It will gain you the respect from your child that you need. Be patient it does take time. Use as much positive reinforcement as you can when she does something right. Children get excited when praised for good things and will want to do the right thing more often to receive that praise. Keep you head up. You'll get the hang of it.

I have never heard of forbidding your child from the kitchen. That's ridiculous, let her be part of family life., at three she is old enough to know not to go in cupboard, but a safety lock on the chemical cabinet is a good idea.

You know what the answer is, time out. You gave up because you couldn't be bothered doing it. And a child's bedroom should never be associated with punishment. Give her one warning, "this is your warning, we don't do x it is naughty behaviour." If she does it again, put her in the naughty corner, one minute per year of her age, "Mummy is putting you in the naughty corner because you did not listen to mummy. You will stay here for x minutes." Then go and do whatever it is you are doing, if she gets up and runs away, put her back in the corner and restart the timer. Ignore her completely when she is in time out, apart from when you need to put her back in the spot.

When she has done her time say, "Mummy put you in the naughty corner because you didn't listen to Mummy and you did x. I want you to say sorry to Mummy." Get a proper sorry, not shouted or anything, if you don't get one leave her there for a minute and come back and try again. Once you get your apology, give her a hug and a kiss and go back to normal like nothing happened.

If you keep at it, it will work.

I don't know what other parents have said but I would like to recommend a book and a few ideas. Look up Dr. James Dobson's book the Strong Willed Child. My parents used it on us and we are currently reading it for my two boys.

My suggestions to try would be: start off calmly asking her why she did that. Make her think about it or give 3 reasons as to why she did something or even wants something. If she continues calmly remind her what the consquences are (make sure to spell them out whether it be spanking, timeout, cleaning up the mess, memorizing bible verse or whatever). Don't be afraid to follow through. (We do this exact same thing at home.) My last suggestion would be to attempt to only yell when necessary. My 2 yr old yells back just because I do. Sometimes I have to get upset but deal with it calmly and walk away from him. Then he chases me asking for help or whatever. I usually end up going to the bedroom and screaming into a pillow out of frustration.

I will pray for you.

WOW -- are you serious?

You say she is smart, yet you aren't appealing to her intellect or her need to be involved

she is at such an impressionable age & all you are doing is forbidding her from being in the kitchen, trying to discourage her from developing skills, and yelling at her because she wants to do things

if she finds ways to "entertain herself" this is because she is not getting the physical or mental stimulation she needs

find ways to incorporate her into your daily life... 3 year old kids are great for helping with laundry if you can accept the fact that the washrags are not folded perfectly... they are great for "helping" to sort strips of bell pepper (that you cut) by size or shape to be put into the pot in selections of 5 matching pieces (who cares that this is not necessary to cook dinner, it gets her involved

go through magazines with her & ask her to point out things she likes... cut those out & put them onto sheets of paper... then let her put the papers in whatever order she likes & create a story to go with the picture... you play along & help create a story

you have no clear rules... giving her 3 chances to screw up only teaches her that the rules bend

spanking rarely works... time out sometimes works better

I strongly suggest you stop looking for "punishments" and start looking for real solutions to address her needs (the root cause to her acting badly)

if needed, get with a child psychologist & learn how to work with, instead of against, your child

Kids are brats, (I'm a 17 year old girl with 3 little sisters under 7 who act like your daughter but way worse.) I'm going to tell you everything my step mother doesn't do, but should. Take away toys, movies, and television rights. Put her to bed early, and don't give her snacks. You do not have to yell, yelling just scares a child, then later they stop caring and just get annoyed. You have to be the demanding, and strict. You are the boss, not the child. Spank her, no one likes doing it but you're going to have to, but after doing so do not feel sorry and cuddle them and let them get their way again. Kids are smart, and your daughter seems smart, so if she sees that you are feeling bad she is going to take advantage of that.

Also, my mom would tell me of I was good the whole week she would take me somewhere I liked, or give me a surprise, so that work for awhile.

I'm not a parent, and I might not give the best advice, but I seen bad parenting from my step mother cause all she does is yell and the kids just have a whatever attitude now cause they stopped caring and they are only 5, 6 and 7!!

My 3yo daughter is the same way. Nothing seems to work. At her daycare, the lady puts them in time out in a hallway where they have to sit against the wall. They are close enough to see everyone else having fun but can't join in. I tried this at home and she would just get up or throw a fit like you said yours did. Well, she has been learning to count, and can now count to 30 unassisted and to 100 with a little help. I sit her against the wall in our hallway where I can watch her, and make her count out loud to 30 two times before she can get up. AND she has to say it loud enough for met to hear across the room or she has to start over. She will eventually stop crying and count so she can get up.

With my 4yo son, nothing seems to work. I started taking away his favorite toys for a week and marking it on the calendar when he gets them back. If he is naughty (and I mean a fit worth punishing), we add extra time, but if he's good or helps do chores around the house, we shave time off so he can get them back sooner. This seems to be pretty good motivation for him to behave. "Do you want me to add more time before you get your toys back?"

EVERYTHING you are doing is telling her she is NOT part of the 'family unit'.

Remove ALL the stupid locks (I raised 3 kids and NEVER locked anything). When you're in the kitchen preparing a meal - have her help you.....kids love this. When you're doing your chores - have her help you and then give her a few simple chores of her own to do; pull the covers up on her bed, put her dirty clothes in a hamper and pick her toys up.

The more you make her she's 'part' of something - the less she will act up.

.i take a chair strap his high chair to it put him in it and put him in a corner for 3 min only if if he can be quite it really works