DISCIPLINE FOR A 3 1/2 YEAR OLD - Real Mum story on MoM

6 Comments

I’m a 31 year old single mother to a (for the most part) beautiful 3 1/2 year old daughter. It has been just us from the beginning.

My Angel is smart beyond her years, which also means i have a Little Miss Attitude on my hands. (Goodness help me during the teenage years!!)

Now, even though i’m not against giving children a LITTLE smack on the bottom or hand when nothing else seems to be working, this path of action is something i rarely follow. Most times the tone of my voice will be met with ‘i wont do it again’ which of course means i’ll stop for 2 minutes and go straight back to what I’m doing….causing me to raise my voice more, and is met with tears, and me feeling awful & backtracking….showing my daughter that she’ll always eventually win, & therefore she continues to act up.

Being a single mum means I’m ALWAYS the bad cop & it breaks my heart seeing my Angel upset, & she does have me wrapped around her little finger, & as much as I don’t want her to be a spoilt little brat, it looks as though she may be heading that way.

The newest thing is her poking her tongue out at me whenever i ask her to do something, which is so infuriating, but we keep going through the same cycle over and over again.

Time outs & naughty mats haven’t worked and being on my own can often mean i do give in before i should, because shes my baby and i hate seeing her upset.

There must be something that other single mums have perfected so that they’re not being pulled in all directions with no end in sight…..I just hope i come across that particular proverbial pot of gold before i turn into a grey haired monster….now that’s scary lol

Posted by dilemmalina, 28th February 2013

6 Comments

- - june11 said
  - 17 Jul 2016
    8:13 pm
Does your daughter go to childcare at all? If she does they may be able to give you some advice. They have phrases/words they use for different situations. They use the same ones for every child. If you can juse the same methods they do you may have some success. Have you tried to explain to her why she isn’t allowed to do something, why she can’t have something, why she should be doing something??? We found that helped with ours at 2 1/2 y.o. Have you showed and explained to her how do the things? I am sure you probably have – maybe she needs a reminder. I know one Mum who put her kid’s hands on the toys to pick them up, the kid thought it was a game and then picked them the rest of them up. All kids are individuals and I found what worked for one didn’t work for the other one. It’s so hard finding the best methods for some kids

- - dannsbuild said
  - 26 Sep 2015
    3:39 pm
Thank you for sharing this. Very interesting reading!

- - Cynthea Jenke said
  - 18 Apr 2015
    9:00 pm
Setting her boundaries are a good thing. I find conficating what they like is a great way. I do this until they behave. I teach them big words like negotiate from an early age and they have to negotiate to get things back. Even if its to be good. Your daughter is smart and she would learn this concept fast. Another is stop, look listen ask and do. Most children play up at home. Its when your out that counts more in public. Social skills is a great thing to learn.

- - mom57522 said
  - 26 Oct 2014
    8:02 pm
I find whatever method you choose, consistency is the key.

- - dearest mom said
  - 09 Jul 2014
    7:34 am
It sounds like what I’m going through good luck hun

- - jodie80 said
  - 31 Mar 2014
    8:14 pm
she sounds similar 2 my little girl