Two little monkey swinging on a tree
teasing Mr. Alligator
You can’t catch me, you can’t catch me
Along comes Mr. Alligator quiet as can be…
*Snap!* (tickling hands come down on belly)
As our own lil monkey twists and turns on the changing pad like a “beached whale”, I turn to this rhyme to catch his attention, and it works every single time. Others yell, contort his body further in an effort to have him lay on his back, clap their hands to get his attention, or give up and let him crawl away with smears of brown and tan on his tush.
Discipline, how we should do it and what methods to use, has been coming up more often as Noah is nearing that most dreaded of ages for all parents of toddlers: the twos–better known as: the terrible twos. Tantrums–often times marked by uncontrollable screaming, punching, kicking, and whatever antic toddlers have thought of to make their parents crazy–will be present in full force as they are coming into the realization that they are individuals with minds that can form opinions and judgements, not just babies who are coddled and need our ever present hand to guide them to do the most simplest of basic human functions. No, they are big kids, they know what they want, and for sure will assert that right every chance they get.
Now what if their assertion clashes with our own assertions of what we want for and from them resulting in a clash that brings out that dreaded toddler tantrum? What should we do then as parents, as observers of this fight for independence from our wee young ones? Throw a tantrum back? Punish them for throwing a tantrum using psychological or corporal methods?
