While many parents embark on toddler discipline pretty early, a lot put it off for later. They say a child, at two years or, is too young to understand the harsh concepts of crime and punishment or rejection. With respect to crime and punishment, they’re right. But as far as rejection and the greater overall concept of discipline, they are wrong.  Discipline should never be put off. As soon as a child is able to speak, understanding dawns. The longer you put off correcting negative or improper behavior, the harder it would be to do so.

You don’t need to inflict pain or use punishment in toddler discipline. Language, as Chris Thompson suggests in his book ‘Talking to Toddlers’, is an even more effective, more powerful tool to instill proper behavior in children. The whip may force children to obey. But that approach to toddler discipline instills obedience out of fear. That’s not healthy. The coercive factor makes children resentful. If you’re to be honest with yourself, you’d realize you didn’t appreciate the rod when you were a child. If you didn’t then, your child won’t now. You don’t want your toddler learning to resent you, do you?

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