Great Advice on Discipline, but What About a 2 Year Old Who Laughs?

I read something when my daughter was young that had to do with her going through growth cycles ...and it helped me to just be patient with her and she would outgrow it .

I would do a shower...all my kids have since they could walk( and before that I or my husband would hold them)...as for the laughing, at this age (infant/toddler) it is more likely that she is laughing at the fact that she got the reaction she thought she was going to get...not that she's trying to be bad, but because she is figuring out the whole cause and effect thing...if I splash, mommy will frown and say no...and she's delighted that it works...stay firm with what you expect and if you have to pull her out of the tub because she's not doing what you ask...she'll get the picture...just pick her up and say "okay, all done, we'll try again tomorrow when you can listen to mommy"...it's okay if she doesn't go to bed squeaky clean for a couple of days...she'll live. good luck!

A., I have four kids and they are all different. My oldest was the hardest. When she was about 3 she starting acting out. She would throw tantrums so bad that she would knock over her night stand (which was pretty heavy). Your right yelling is not the answer. She is only two so right now the best thing is to offer something exciting like reading a story, song or a bath game. I remember always having small snacks so if a tantrum was starting food was a good deterent.
My kids are 12, 10, 10 and 7 now. Enjoy they get big fast..
C.
http://colleend.stayinhomeandlovinit.com

I have no solutions for the bath. My daughter has always been the same during bath time and the only thing that has worked was to get her in and out as soon as possible with minimal flooding, injuries, tantrums, etc.

My kids have all laughed at me when they were around 2 also. My theory is that they do not know bad from good at that age and they are just being their carefree innocent selves.

I have been so enraged at some points, usually while changing a poopy diaper with a very uncooperative, squirmy kid, that I forgot my good mommy skills and yelled (freaked out really) at whoever was being changed. Many times at that innocent stage in their lives when they have never ever ever seen mommy so angry, their response was a big fat giggle. They did not know I was angry. They did not know they were making things extrememly difficult for for me. All they knew was that mommy was making loud noises and holding their legs tight - both of which we do when we are playing (I am the kind of mom who takes playing and tickling my kids very seriously! I believe that they should have at least 1 good belly laugh a day!).

And no matter how angry I am, when I see that smile, it brings me back to reality that, hey, this is just a baby who has no clue that they need to lay still so that poop doesn't get everywhere & gross mommy out to the point of uncontrollable anger.

So, just keep in mind that 2 year old's are still very innocent and not 'out to get you,' they just do not know any better. So if your daughter is splashing uncontrollably and laughs at you when you say no, hold her hands, put a serious look on your face, look her straight in the eye and say NO again. Then proceed with what you need to do and get her out, because more than likely she is going to splash again because that is simply pure joy for a child.

I have no clue if any of this rambling has helped you in anyway, but just know that whatever you do, stay consistant, use simple language, make eye contact and try and understand the her age & development stage. Good luck.

A.

Well you didn't say what she is doing so i assume she is splashing and making a mess, playing around

NORMAL, and there is not much you can do accept yell.
or take her out of the bath.

first off its your fault, when bathtime comes around, you get organized BEFORE she gets in the tub,
set out her shampoo, and lotion and towel and outfit before hand,

so that when she gets in the tub, its NO NONSENSE
wash her body and hair first. then she can play.

So that if she is splashing, you can just pull her out.
eventually she associates the splashing with getting out of the tub, and she will do it less.

BUT to be honest they all do it, after a while in the tub. that when you take them out. LOL

M

I turned bathtime into "No Nonsense" time in my house about the time my youngest was 1 1/2. It was getting to the point that bathtime was taking two hours with three kids to get ready at night. VERY TIRING!! My two older ones were already taking showers, which I still had to monitor(they were 10 and 7) because they would just stand under the running water for 10 minutes and tell me they were done if I didn't. Then to fill a tub with the little one...I think you get the point. I bought one of those sprayers that attached to the shower head, but didn't interfere with it. He has been taking a "shower" ever since. I spray him down, wash, rinse and we're out in about 5 minutes. He likes it because he gets extra reading time before going down for the night. And there's no question about getting it done. I also worked full time when we made this change. Worked wonders for getting things done in the evening. Although I don't work now, it still makes the evenings run smoother. As for laughing at you, they'll do that forever! LOL Stay firm and consistant. That really is the key to everything in parenting.

Hello-
I too have a 2 yr. old, and yes they do splash no matter what, and yes they do think its hilarious however. Tactics I have found to be effective. I always have everything that he needs for after bath ready so that we can get to it when bathtime is over.

I have made it a habit to wash my son first and then let him play for a bit. This is mainly because some night he doesn't feel like being in there. This is also because if he acts up doing things he knows he shouldn't, and he refuses to stop when I ask. I tell him that bathitme is over and that he is going in time out,then I pull him out of the tub and if I have to I put him directly in time out. Yes he does have his twel on, and yes sometimes I do take time to put a diaper on, It depends on how frustrated I am at that point.

All that matters is that you stay consistent, and unfortunately you have to have a time out where they realize that their actions have consequences that takwe them away from the fun for a bit. I know that yelling is not appealing either,but sometime they need to know that youmean business too.

Always though after timeout, remind them briefly of why they were put there and have them give you a hug and kiss so that they know your not doing it to be mean. STAY CONSISTENT. Oh and time out may not work at first. You'll have tot keep replacing her until she gets the point.Trying to be rational with them at this stage is futile only because they haven't quite learned if you do this you don't get that.

Itr doesn't mean that your a mean and cruel mom if you use this time out method, it means that you want your child toknow that there are consequences to ones actions.

Good Luck
A.

P.S.
Its not your fault. It took me a while to realize I had to mean what I say and say what I mean in order for him to start to listen, and ya know what he's two and she's two and they have hit the terrible twos. There are going to be times where it doesnt matter what you do or say they are going to do what the want regardless. I hope this helps.

oh, i know how frustrating it can be when they laugh right in your face. my daughter is almost 4 and when she starts misbehaving i say, oh, where is my good girl? has anyone seen my good girl? she thinks that's funny and starts raising her hand and saying, right here, right here. usually defuses the situation. anyother thing that i've tried when she's acting out is say, ok, see you later. i don't want to be around little girls that misbehave to their mommies. i'd walk out of the bathroom and stand right outside the door and eventually she will stop what she's doing and start calling you. wait a couple of seconds and go back in explaining that if she wants you to be there, she has to behave and listen to mommy and daddy. and the last ditch effort. yank her from the tub. i've had to do it a few times and now,thankfully, we have a fun bath time. they only get bigger and heavier so try and nip it now. oh, the other thing i do when she and my son (17 months) get a little wild in the tub, i close the shower curtain. i usually get dead silence after that. then she says, hey, why did you do that? try not to show her your anger because she looking for a reaction. good luck and one day we'll think back and say how cute they were when they splashed in the tub!

Hello A.,

My two kids are older now, (5 & 10), but what I remember working well in any tantrum situation is to use rewards based systems. During a "quiet" period or non tantrum period, take the time to explain that if she does what she is told, (take a bath) she will earn a sticker. Maybe let her pick out the stickers at the store. (get a chart or pocket calendar she keeps to stick them in each day.) Make it a big deal and make it really special. Once she has 3 stickers, she gets some small reward, (whatever you can think of that works in your household, a dollar store toy, or her favorite cookies or whatever.) My kids still use the sticker system at their age. I make sure to reward them for them too.

Or you could alternatively try making some special routine or event as an incentive to get through bath-time. "If you take a bath, we will play...(something realatively low key) together when we are done. Give her something to look forward to after bath time. If those don't work, I'd move into time outs. Only a a few minutes.

Good Luck, I am sure you will find a system that works!

D.

P.S.

She will laugh at you. Don't take it personally, all kids do this. They are not capable of being vengeful and really mean-spirited in that way at this age. They just laugh because they want control, or are nervous in a tense situation and don't know how frustrating it can be to the parent!!