Punishment Works -- If You Can Do It!
It was one of my biggest failures, as a parent. Punishment. I would get mad and send my son as a toddler to his room, then go in my room and cry. I was pretty lucky, he was a quiet, contained child who didn't get into too much (except his one rare climbing incident, at 18 months, when he split a glass table with his forehead). But you have to discipline kids, there's no question about it. A friend recommended a book, with the title "1 2 3 Magic"and the idea was to tell your kid you would count to three and then something would happen -- a "Go to your room," or a withdrawal of a promised treat or taking the computer away -- if he didn't stop it. I failed at all three. When he was small and wouldn't go to his room, I could pick him up and put him there. But after not too long, the door would open and out he'd come and I would have to think of something else. Or give up. Some parents were successful at getting their kids to sit in a ...