Discipline begins as early as 9 monthsâď¸ At this age, itâs all about teaching cause and effect and implementing boundaries and redirection to preferred behaviors. Young toddlers are looking for patterns to guide their future behavior, so if they learn that throwing food gets them attention, food will continue to fly!đâď¸ Boundaries ARE NOT the same as punishments! Boundaries ARE NOT the same as punishments! We do not punish children: we set boundaries which are extremely healthy. At this toddler baby age; try to avoid giving big reactions for behaviors you want to discourage and instead calmly but firmly tell them the boundary. Redirect their attention to things they CAN do. âNo, we donât throw food. We can EAT food.â And model eating the food. âNo. No hit. Show me gentle touchâ And model what a gentle touch. Positive reinforce when they do preferred behavior. Time-outs at this age and are not my approach. Putting a âtoddler babyâ in time out is unlikely to change their future behavior as they have no way to link their behavior to why they have to stand in the corner. Time-outs can be used in older children over 2 years where other methods arenât working. **Itâs important to note that some older kids respond better to time-outs than more âtime-inâ strategies** The key at this age is: âĄď¸Donât give a big rise to undesired behaviors âĄď¸Show them what is the desired behavior âĄď¸Positively reinforce when they do desired behaviors (behavior goes where your attention goes!) âĄď¸If they continue with an undesired behavior after showing them the preferred behavior; calmly state the boundary and follow through. âIf you throw your food, I take it away.â âOkay. All done. We can try again next time.â Repetition matters for them to understand the consistency and importance of a boundary. For more on managing Toddlers & Tantrums, time-ins, time-outs and everything toddle
