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| Always practice preventive discipline to avoid problems |
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Disciplining your preschooler can be challenging and sometimes frustrating. However, you control your child's environment and her schedule. Managing these correctly can prevent many difficulties you might otherwise face. To practice preventive discipline: * Create child-friendly spaces. Preschoolers are active. They are often silly and boisterous. Result: Things in their paths are likely to break. Put breakable items away until your child is older. Things that can hurt her, such as knives and chemicals, should be stored out of her reach. * Keep your child on a schedule. There are always exceptions, but you should stick to your child's schedule whenever possible. Your child needs to eat at regular times. A hungry child is a cranky child. She also needs to sleep at least 11 hours each night. A sleep-deprived child may be a child on the verge of a meltdown. Keep her rested and fed to have the best chance of keeping her happy. * Know your child's temperament. Some kids are easy-going and flexible. They are happy to sit for long periods in a cart as you do errands. Other kids simply can't tolerate an afternoon like this. They can't sit still or they dislike transitions. Forcing a child into a situation that is all wrong for her temperament can be a disaster. Either avoid it for now or be prepared to make a hasty exit. Reprinted with permission from the March 2010 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Early Childhood Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2010 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Lesia Oesterreich, "Understanding Children: Disciplining Your Preschooler," Iowa State University, University Extension, www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1529B.pdf. |