we have officially implemented the naughty mat at our house. for those not familiar with a naughty mat, it's basically the same as a time out, but there is a small square of carpet involved. when the little dude misbehaves now, we bring out the naughty mat and put it in the middle of the room where he can't reach, or be entertained by anything. he's not allowed to move from the mat until we say he can.
it's amazing that after only one trip to the mat, he figured out that he was not allowed to get off of it. for the first couple days, he would scream bloody-murder the second he was placed upon the mat. however, no matter how upset he was, he would not leave it. pretty impressive how quickly they catch on to these things.
i'm not sure that it's working much. it's really hard to tell what he's getting out of it at this age since he can't tell us. however, something needs to be done. he's purposely disobeying and thinks he's the boss of everything. we're trying to nip this in the bud.
for the first time today, he didn't cry when we put him on it. i'm not sure if this means he doesn't care anymore, or if he's realized that crying isn't going to get him off of it.
anyone else have any great parenting advice for a disobeying child?
this parenting thing is difficult stuff!
Saturday, April 22, 2006
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5 comments:
Ahhh yesss the joys of parenthood. It's funny that you mention that he doesn't move from the mat. I've always been amazed by that very thing. My kids won't budge either no matter how mad they are.
All I can say is that consistency and lots of patience are essential. Leaving them in one room and going to another to scream into a pillow and coming back as if all is perfect in the world has also worked wonders for ME! LOL!
i think using the naughty mat is a fabulous idea! and it is awesome that you are willing to teach your son boundaries and rules so young...both child, parents, and all who you encounter will be better for it!
be brave!
kelli
Bravo! The important thing is to follow through and stick to the rules you set. We didn't use a naughty mat, but instead used [and still use] the counting method, "1...2..." I almost never get to "3" because daughter knows a time out is swiftly behind it.
Let us know how it works out.
It's a red plastic chair at my house.
I think Nanny Jo is the Bomb Diggity. Watching the show and many of the complete assbag parents makes my stomach hurt, but I never leave an episode (when I do watch it) without at least a hint of realization about my relationship with my own children.
Yes, time outs work like a charm around here. We usually either sit the kids in a chair (facing away from all of the fun stuff) -- and usually the timeout is pretty quick. Somewhere I heard that a minute/year ratio is good (i.e. 1 min for a 1 year old etc).
If we happen to be in a store or at someone else's house, we usually choose a quiet location for the time out.
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