Disciplining 2 1/2 Year Old

The laughter is not rebellion - it's because he's nervous and doesn't know how else to respond in that situation.

At his age, your best bet is to just model, model, model, redirect, redirect, redirect. Show him the right behavior and then move him on to something else to do.

Please don't slap his hands - there is research that shows it actually inhibits learning later on because kids whose hands are slapped are less inquisitive and less likely to explore.

make him clean something outside wash the car or pull weeds. or sweep the driveway that doesn't need to be swept. it gets his energy out and gets him out of your hair so to speak and might work. don't expect it to be good work though he is 2. when mine acts up I feed him first if that doesn't work then its nap time. send him to bed most of the time when a 2 yr old acts out its from being tired. good luck.

What is he doing that he needs such harsh punishment? If it is hitting, hold his hands down and say "we don't hit, it isn't nice" then give him a hug and say "this is so much nicer, don't you think?" If it is messing, have him help you clean it up. Children at that age do not know how to commuicate very well and need the words put out for them. "You are mad because you can't have a cookie" then explain why he can't have one "It is almost dinner time and you need to eat dinner before any sweets"

Your son wants your attention and it is a game to get it so give him more attention when he is doing things right and when you do time out use a rug instead of a chair and don't make any eye contact with him while he is in it. He doesn't have to be there long.. just 2 and half minutes. Use a digital timer so he will have something to watch for his time to be up.

Most of all.. the most important thing you need is consistancy. If he gets a cookie to stop a fit once, he will do it next time and the next time. If he gets his way by giggling when he is being corrected or gets you laughing too.. he will do that each time.

He is getting clingy to you because he is learning to distrust his world, it is normal and with the punishments you listed doesn't make it a safe place for him since he doesn't know what is going to happen, not in his eyes anyway. It is ok if he laughs at his punishment... it is a teaching tool not a way to destroy a child. I remember when my youngest child was about 6 and I swatted his bottom for something. One swat, not that hard and he said "That didn't hurt" I looked at him and said "Did you know you got a spanking?" "He said "yes" I said "Well I could give you one to make it hurt, but you know you did wrong and you got spanked, isn't that enough?" He said "Yes" then he realized it didn't have to hurt to let him know he was in trouble and went to his room bawling because he was in trouble which he hated.

Look into the books by Jim Fay-Parenting with Love and Logic. They also have books specifically geared towards kids under six. My son is also 2.5 and I use choices with him all the time. It is a big part of Jim Fay's methods. I give my son a couple of choices that are both ok with me and let him decide with nearly everything. It can actually be fun and it lets him have some independence. For example, he had a book of mine that I didn't want to get ripped up so I said would you like to hand the book to me or put it on the table? He chose to put it on the table and then I redirect him to something else and put the book away.
You can do this with so much. Do you want to eat your broccoli or chicken first? Do you want me to put on your shoes or do you want to do it? Do you want to brush your teeth or put on your pajamas first? Do you want to carry your coat or wear it? If they can't decide within 5 seconds then tell them you will decide for them. If you let him do a lot of the decision making for little things, then when it comes to a big thing that you have to make the decision on you can calmly say, Don't I usually let you make decisions? Mom needs to make some of the decisions and this is one of those times.
Yesterday we were at the zoo. I hesitated letting my son out of the double stroller because I was afraid he would take off on me, but I gave him a chance to show that he could be trusted and he did great! He chose to help push the stroller, walk along side with me and when we were getting ready to go I told him what a great job he did and that I needed him to get in the stroller. He started to complain a little, but did it anyway. Jim Fay likens building a relationship to having a bank account, the more you invest (deposit) a positive logic into it, the more your child will give back because you have modeled good examples and behavior yourself.
As far as keeping him busy look into Marie Montessori's methods. She believes children learn best and are most actively engaged when they are doing things they have interest in. Surprisingly, they enjoy practical life skills such as sorting socks, cleaning and drying dishes, flower arranging, etc. or activities that involve the 5 senses. I have been doing this with my son and 15 month old daughter. We rarely have the tv on anymore and they don't fight for the same thing. It's weird, but nice! ;-)
Hope this helps! Sorry for the long post, but I can relate to your predicament and this has helped our terrible 2's not be terrible!
A.