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Your privacy is a PRIMARY consideration of AskDrSears.com. Your e-mail address is used ONLY by AskDrSears.com for the purpose of announcing news, events and special offers available only AskDrSears.com registered users. DANGER DISCIPLINE
Make a lasting impression Your toddler reaches
for
the handle of the soup pan on the stove. Instead of shouting "no," try "stop!"
As soon as baby stops in her tracks, issue a quick follow-up—"hurt baby." As you
firmly grab her exploring hand (thinking next time you'll keep the handle turned
in and use the back burner), look into her amazed big eyes and continue your
serious look: "Hot. Hurt. Don't touch what's on the stove. ouchie!" You've made
your point without saying "no." Follow-up with a hug, especially if you found
yourself speaking harshly. Reconnect with your child so that one incident
doesn't ruin your child's whole day. ("Hot" is another helpful stop word,
especially once your child has some personal experience with the sensation.
Carefully hold her hand where she can feel the heat so she understands the
connection.)
Don't spank As young parents
with
our first few children, we believed that spanking was appropriate in life-
threatening situations, such as toddlers running out into the street. We
reasoned it was necessary to make an impression on mind and body that the child
would remember to prevent running into the street again. At the time we
concluded that safety comes before psychology. But as we learned more about
discipline, we realized there are better ways than spanking to handle even
danger discipline. We realized toddlers don't remember from one time to the
next, even with the "physical impression." Here's what worked for us:
Danger "no" When our toddler was in the driveway, Martha watched him
like a
hawk. If he ventured too close to the street, she put on her best tirade,
"Stop!! Street!!" and she grabbed him from the gutter and carried on and on,
vocalizing her fear of his being in the street. She was not yelling at him or
acting angry. She was expressing genuine fear, giving voice to that inner alarm
that goes off in every mother's heart when her child could be hurt. It was very
important that he believe her, so she didn't hold back. And it worked! He
acquired a deep respect for the street and always looked for permission, knowing
that Mom would take his hand and they would cross together. A few times Martha
had to reinforce this healthy fear by issuing a loud warning sound. She saves
this sound for times when an immediate response is needed for safety. This sound
is hard to describe in writing, but it is a very sharp, forceful, "Ahhh!" once
she had to use it from a distance of about 100 ft. at a park where Stephen
wandered off and was about to step into the street. To her intense relief, he
stopped in his tracks and looked back at her, giving her time to get to him. She
never uses it casually, and doesn't use it often. Day-to-day, moment-by-moment
situations need to be handled more normally.
Any "danger" situation still requires constant adult supervision—no amount of spanking will danger-proof a child when the adult is not there to administer the blows. Any after-the-fact hitting will just be confusing—he won't know why he's being hit. Your job as a disciplinarian is to keep your child away from situations in which his ignorance or impulsiveness could get him into real danger. Instant replay Our four-year-old Stephen
was
headed for the street. I immediately ran to his side and began our danger-
preventing tirade. Then we played the rewind game. Ten
times we reenacted the scene. We ran toward the street, stopped at the curb,
looked both ways: "Look this way, no car; look that way, no car, and then we
walk across the street to your friend's house." By graphic repetition, I hoped
to imprint in Stephen's mind the habit of as soon as he approaches the curb he
automatically looks both ways for cars and then crosses the street. Eight-year-
old Matthew was running on a slick, wet sidewalk and slipped and fell. I used
"rewind" to prevent this accident from occurring again. We both ran toward the
puddle, stopped, walked around it, and then carried on, replaying this scene ten
times. By using "rewind," you provide your child with a script for when the same
situation later arises.
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