Janet Watson

The more you use the word no, the less they will hear it.

That’s not safe, you shouldn’t do that because you can get hurt

your toddler wants to go play outside, but it’s too cold, then tell them it would be too cold to enjoy outside right now but you have a fun, new game that you can play together inside.

If you want your child to remember to do something, give them a short and simple reminder. If it’s their toys you want them to remember to pick up, then simply just say “toys”. It’s a simple, gentle reminder that they need to pick up their toys and you would be surprised by how well this simple technique works.

if you give your toddler a piece of candy every single time they remember to clean up their toys, at first you are probably going to have to remind them to pick up the toys if they want candy. Then they’ll start picking up the toys without you having to ask and then come to you for the candy, and then slowly they’ll start forgetting about the candy and just clean up their toys when they are done because that is what they are used to.

It’s time for bed. Do you want to wear your green or purple pajamas?

Telling them ahead of time what they’ll be doing gives them time to mentally prepare.

Once they finally do calm down you can start by explaining what they did wrong and what they should do differently next time. Let them know that it’s okay if they were feeling angry or upset but that’s not how we handle it. Give them acceptable ways to express their anger and how they are feeling.