Do's and Dont's In Disciplining a Toddler

I have a toddler and I admit that it's really hard to discipline him plus I am a first time mother so I guess I don't have any idea on what to do. I know I am not alone. So, I would like to share with you an article I found from Parents.com about the Do's and Dont's in Disciplining a Toddler.

Dont's

Don't hit. That sends the message that it's okay to use force. Plus, a young child can't yet connect his misdeed to your response.

Don't overuse the word "no". Toddlers who hear this term all the time will tune it out. Focus on what he can do instead: "Why don't you jump on the floor, not the couch?"

Don't cave in when she cries. If you do, you'll set a precedent for future sobfests.

Do's

Do stay calm. Yelling may startle or scare your child, but it won't improve his behavior.

Do catch him being good. Shower your child with kisses, hugs, and praise when he listens or behaves well.

Do make eye contact. This shows respect and commands attention.

I admit that I don't do some of them but it makes sense to do them. So, if you are a parent who is having hard time disciplining your toddler, learn from the expert.

Recognizing Numbers At Two

My son surprised me yesterday. I was solving Suduko Puzzle and he came to me pointing on the puzzle and said "numbers". I was surprise coz I don't remember teaching him to say numbers and wonder where he learned that. I am teaching him to count from 1 to 10 and that's about it. I never said the word numbers to him. But I am more surprised when he pointed out some numbers and recognize what numbers they are. Like when I wrote number 2, he said "two". Then he pointed out on number 7 and said "seven" and so on. He said it very clearly.

It just amazed me how he learned all those things. Probably with the TV shows that he's watching everyday because I always make sure that he is watching educational show but entertaining at the same time.

Each time I teach him to count or recite the alphabet, he doesn't seem to be interested and all. So I was so surprised when he recognizes numbers now. He could be smarted than his age because he is still 2 years old right now. He can even follow the alphabet song though he missed some letters coz the song is too fast for him.

But I am so proud of my son, always will be.

My disciplining adventure for today

Today was my first time to put my son on his time-out chair. His father is usually the one who do the utmost disciplining because I honestly would tolerate my son and doing my best to be patient and just keeps telling him NO whenever I need to. But today, I was not so pleased with doing the same thing that he is not allowed to do.

Here the things that he did:

Crossing the fence. We have a little fence between our living room and my sister-in-laws bedroom. We put that there coz we don't want Abi to go to her bedroom coz she has lots of stuffs there that he may end up damaging. In fact, he already damage 2 of her CD players. A few days ago, he got an idea on how to cross that fence by using a chair. He would move the chair near the fence and jump his way across it. I kept telling him NO and on the 5th time of doing it, I told him that I will spank him the very next time. He did it for 6th time and he got a spank on his butt.

Playing with the stuffs underneath the sink. There are lots of stuffs underneath our sink that are dangerous due to its chemicals. We put lock there so that he won't be able to get to them but my son broke it a couple of days ago. We told him not to go there plenty of times to no avail. Earlier he did it again so I put him on his time-out chair.

Broke the puzzle. His time-out chair is a high chair that we put on one corner of our house where can't reach anything. Well, we thought he can't but while he is on that chair, he got interested with the big puzzle behind it (talking about about 2,000 pcs puzzle) and decided to break them into pieces. Now, he is on his bed. Got bored then conked out.

Being a mother is not easy. You need to have never-ending patience but at the same time, you need to discipline your child for his own good. It hurts me to punish him but he needs to understand the WORD NO especially when parents say it.

Am I alone? I need to know

I guess I am not alone. Almost all mothers feel bad each time they punish their children for doing things that they are not allowed to do coz it may hurt them and having a 2-year-old kid that is so active, two eyes are not enough to watch him. If I am the only one like this, please let me know.

My son, as a 2-year-old, he loves to explore anything. He easily gets bored and even having millions of toys around him is not enough to keep him entertain. I may have time to play with him but not 24/7 coz I need to attend to my personal needs too. I just can't watch him every second which sometimes makes me feel guilty coz I know I should be watching him so that he won't do anything that may hurt him or put him into trouble.

I guess I am too young for this and I am not mature enough to become a mother. I, honestly, wasn't ready when my son came into my life, but I whole-heartedly accepted him without regrets. I love him to death and I wanted him to grow as good person. And a part of me is telling me that I am not doing the right thing and one part says, just be yourself. But how would I know if I am doing the right thing? Do you ask yourself that too?

Row, row, row your boat

This is another video of our son, Abi, playing with his Daddy and singing "Row, row, row your boat". Again, I missed the part where he was singing with his Daddy so below is what I got. He was actually singing the song with his Daddy but it was too late when I pulled out my phone to catch it because Abi decided to just play and no singing.

Anyway, here's the video. have fun!

The Love For Banana

My son really loves Banana. I guess it is his most favorite fruit. He can actually eat 2-3 pieces of cavendish banana in one day if we let him to. But I observed that each time he eats banana, he poops a lot which for my own understanding is not good. Though I know that there are lots of nutrients and benefits that we get from banana, but too much of anything is always bad. So I still let him eat banana, at least once a day.

Anyway, here are some benefits that we can get from banana that I got from HubPages:

Health Benefits of Banana :

1. Banana is an energy booster.
2. Banana contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin. Serotonin is a hormone that is known to make you feel happy and improve your mood.
3. Banana is a rich source of iron, thus it is helpful in cases of anemia.
4. Banana is good a good source of potassium. If you are taking diuretics take 2 bananas a day to prevent the depletion of potassium in the body.
5. The skin of the banana is said to help remove warts(cover the warts with the inner skin of banana).
6. Banana is good for people who have high blood pressure because it is low in salt.

Banana is also helpful in the following cases : Stomach ulcer (banana has a natural antacid), Colitis, Digestive disorder, Diarrhea, Constipation (banana is high in fiber), Hemorrhoids

Nutritive Values : Per 100 gm.

* Vitamin A : 430 I.U.
* Vitamin B : Thiamine .04 mg.;
* Vitamin C : 10 mg.
* Calcium : 8 mg.
* Iron : 6 mg.
* Phosphorus : 28 mg.
* Potassium : 260 mg.
* Carbohydrates : 23 gm
* Protein : 1.2 mg.
* Calories : 88

Alphabet Dance (Abi's Own Version)

This happened last night when he was playing with his Alphabet Edison worm toy. First, he was singing alphabet with the toy. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to record it on the video coz it was too late when I finally got my celphone. But I got him to dance while Edison the worm was playing the alphabet melody and his Daddy was singing the alphabet. Somehow, we can't figure out how Abi made the worm toy sing the alphabet (darn!). Anyway, enjoy watching the video!

Taking a bath

This is what my son does everyday while he is taking a bath. Of course, I don't just leave him alone in there. I normally would be sitting with in the tub while he is having some fun. Sometimes, if his Daddy is available, they will stay longer in there. But his Daddy is so strict about it to where he is not allowed to stand up on the tub. I know that it is dangerous but I am always watching him and I don't always allow him to do it, just for this time, for the sake of this video. Have fun!

Inseparable

Every kids has always something that they are really attached with. Most of the time are some kind of stuffed animals. But my son is always attached to his pillow and for now, with his milk bottle.

His pillow is actually a stuffed dog but it can be spread out to form a pillow. I got it from my sister-in-law from those things that she wants to get rid of. Eversince I put on my son's bed, he was inseparable from it. Everytime, he asked for milk which he normally drinks from his bottle, he would ask for his pillow. He never drink his milk if he doesn't have his pillow. But at least when we are at his grandparents's house, he knew that his pillow is not there so he has another pillow which is a purple one.

It is alright to tolerate our kids with those things as long as we know that it won't hurt them. Because having something that they are attached with such as toys or like my son, pillow, meaning they know that there is something they can be comfortable with. Believe it or not, if they know that they can be comfortable with something, they feel confident about dealing with other people and encounter other toys which can be good with their interpersonal relationship.

Fun splashing in the pool

During one of our Sunday visit to my husband's parents. Abi together with his cousins was swimming, playing, and splashing in the pool. That is one of the kids' favorite leisure activity. Have fun watching the video!

Ring Around the Roses

I have a video of Abi playing with his Daddy. This is one of their moments which I am glad I caught on the camera.

Grandparents' Babysitting

Yesterday, Abi slept over at Grandma and Grandpa's house. His grandparents (my husband's parents) baby sit him yesterday. We always see to it that every once in a while, Abi can have at least a night with his grandparents because it is their way to bond with each other too plus me and my husband can sometime our time alone.

It has been a while since me and my husband had our dinner date so we decided to have it yesterday. We went to Joe's Crab Shack and indulge ourselves with seafood.

As a parent, it doesn't mean that our time will be always with our kid. We also need to have time with our husband alone because in a family, your relationship is not just with your children but remember that you have a relationship with your husband or wife as well. So find time to spend a quality time together.

I am very glad that my husband's parents are always please to baby sit Abi.

Horsey! Horsey!

Abi loves playing horse with either me and his Daddy. I would play with him once in a while but I can stand in it for a length of time because my back aches. He enjoys playing this kind of game so much. So, here is a video of Abi playing horse with his Daddy. Enjoy!

A Piano For Abi's 2nd Birthday

We gave Abi, our son, a Fisher-Price Baby Grand Piano on his 2nd birthday.

We decided to give him this toy because we observed that he loves to play with his Dad's piano. Plus this toy is something where he can learn a lot and would help a lot for his development. He can learn to identify colors, count from 1-8, play music, etc.. This is really something that is appropriate for his age.

I saw it from Toys R Us online, but unfortunately, they won't accept my PayPal account for payment. So, I called the Toys R Us store nearest to us and I was so glad that they have a couple of this toy. So, we immediately went to the store and bought it.

Ice Cream For A Treat

We normally always have ice cream on our fridge coz aside from we all love ice cream, we use that as a treat for Abi. Or sometimes it serves as a reward each time he does something nice at the table.

This picture was after one of our dinner. Abi ate a lot that time so we think that he deserves a treat which was ICE CREAM. Obviously, he loved it so much and it shows that he can't get enough of it.

Well, actually got the idea licking the bowl from my sister-in-law. She sometime teaches Abi some silly stuffs not to mean him harm but just to make him silly sometimes which what he is now. I can be silly too but I guess I got it from my husband (Peace Hon!).

Anyway, that is how Abi enjoys eating ice cream. Lick the bowl and all. He even can have his hair eat some ice cream too. hehe. But, of course, he doesn't know any better yet.

Big Boy On The Stair

My son just recently started using the stairs without holding on to something just like BIG BOYS. Though this video didn't show him all the way down. He actually has a video that shows him going down through the whole stair but can't transfer it in the computer for some reason.

My son and his bestfriend

Oh yeah, my son is only 2 years old and he already had a bestfriend. Someone ti play with and tolerate his cruelness. My son usually is cruel to him but he doesn't mind it because they are bestfriends. He knows that Abi, my son, doesn't know any better yet. Well, here he is, meet my son's bestfriend, COOKIE!

Yeah, Cookie's a cat. He is the best cat that I've ever met in my entire life (just don't let the other cats here in our house know that or they would hate me forever). He is the best because it seems that he knew that my son really doesn't know better yet so he never try to scratch or bite my son whenever he pulls his tail, lift him, or just anything to hurt him. He just stays calm and quiet. And after all those cruelness my son did to him, he would still go to my son and let him pet him. Such a very nice cat. Of course, we never stop telling my him that he needs to be nice to the cats or any other animals and he seemed to understand it because he does it every once in a while. He is getting better now though. He doesn't hurt the cats as much as he does before. It is just a matter of being consistent about telling him what not to do.

Anyway, now you already met my son's bestfriend, tell me then what you can say about it. *grin*

Contagious Laughter

The following video was taken when we were still in the Philippines. My son was around 9-10 months old that time and I am sure you would say that he is indeed cute. Have fun while watching the video!

More about my son at Beauty of Life

Before I started this blog, I already have a few blogs but my very first blog is the Beauty of Life. It is about anything and everything that life has to offer. But I have lots of posts there too about my son. If you want to read more about son and when he was before 2-years old, check it on Baby Concerns category of my other blog and you surely will have fun reading some more about my son.

One day at the playground

The other we brought our son to the playground. It is actually his first time to be out in the playground for a length of time. We stayed there and let him all he want for over an hour. We were the only people there at that time so we have the place all by ourselves.

One thing I noticed is my son is afraid of the other things that he can play with there except for the slide. I guess because he never seen any of those things yet aside from the slide. I notice first that he was afraid of the hanging bridge, then the monkey bars. But it didn't bother him because he enjoyed playing with the pebbles around the playground. He was so confident though on the longest slides there. Actually, the video below would show him when he was on the longest slide.



He did had a very great time there. Hope you enjoyed this post. Have a great day!

All vegetables are beans and all meats are chicken

For my son, all vegetables are beans and all meats are chicken. He is not really a picky eater. He always end up tasting anything that we put on his plate. As long as we call beans all the vegetables and call chicken all the meats that we serves, he would eat them. Normally, we have corns, beans, and olives served at the table, so they are all called beans here at our home now: corn as yellow beans and olives as black beans. It really is funny but if that's what it takes to make him eat, we don't care.

One of the hardest part of taking care of a toddler just like my son is to make them eat. Because he is now in the stage where he thinks he knows what tastes good for him, so he won't always eat every food that we serve at the table. At his age, he is more interested in eating candies, chocolates, or any kind of sweet foods. It is his age too where they are easily destructed by anything just like the TV. He would rather watch TV and forget about eating. That is why most of the time, we will have the TV off when we're eating so that it won't destruct him. As I have said earlier, we'll do whatever it takes just to make him eat.