Can I just say, the following quotes are excellent:
Originally Posted by nannyde:
I wouldn't be upset if time out was banished. It doesn't work anyway.
That's one reason I don't even bother with it any more. There is absolutely no point.
Originally Posted by nannyde:
If we are to "discuss" and "distract" and find ways around the child's behavior we have to have a lot of TIME for each child in each situation.
First, what on Earth is "distraction" or "redirection" supposed to do? It does not do anything to teach the child what (s)he did that was inappropriate or what the appropriate reaction or response would be. Let's call it what it is - Ignoring the behavior. Plus, how do you "right" the wrong when the "wrong" involved is that another child was hit? Ignore the behavior and redirect the wrong-doer? What does that teach the victim? That bad behavior gets a new, more interesting toy?
Second, how do you "discuss", "analyze", or "reason" with a 1 year old or 2 year old? Parents tend to think that their brilliant child has the capacity to reason and even feel empathy before 18 months. Truth - Not if they are normal! It is normal and healthy for these young children / toddlers to be selfish, egocentric beings. If they weren't, they would most likely have a serious medical or developmental problem. So, if it's normal to not have these skills until later, I repeat, how do you discuss, analyze, or reason with a very young child? Answer - you can't because they are not capable of it yet AND that's normal.
Originally Posted by nannyde:
Now we must do a therapy session for every time the kid acts up.
This is really funny! Refer to the "discuss", "analyze", or "reason" portion above. To conduct therapy requires these 3 techniques, which are not age appropriate for toddlers. Also, why do we need to do therapy for a child acting "like a child". That likes saying "let's have a therapy session to figure out why your favorite color is red instead of blue". Why? That's not abnormal. It just IS. Basically any therapy session would reveal the following: Was the behavior inappropriate? Yes. Was there some reason for the inappropriate behavior? Yes. What was that reason? (S)He was being a normal, healthy CHILD.