We've been working on discipline and teaching Harrison the concept of consequences. He isn't seeing dire consequences like "because you did that, you have to stand outside in the snow ... barefoot" (yes -- there really is snow outside!); our consequences are more along the lines of "because you did that, I am taking the toy away and sitting you in the corner." It's actually going pretty well. Once he figured out that facing the corner with nothing to look at but beige paint was not a game (his first reaction was to get up, run back over to us, do what he had just done to get himself in trouble, and then hope we'd put him in the corner again), we could start to see a difference in his behavior. He still does naughty stuff (the worst is hitting -- gets this maniacal little gleam in his eye and then smacks you in the face), but the time-outs put an end to it (at least for a while) instead of it being a neverending cycle of hit-corner-hit-corner-hit-corner.
His behavior gets more irritating as he gets tired, of course, but I can see that he's trying to remind himself of what we do and do not want him to do -- even when his brain is worn out. A good example was one afternoon earlier this week when he and I were playing in his room. I was sitting on the floor, and he'd run around me in circles and then come hop on my back for a bouncy piggy-back ride. Sometimes he'd get over-excited and hit me on the back of my head -- it didn't actually hurt, but if it had been my face (or a little baby sibling), then it would have hurt. When he hit, I would put him on the floor, turn around with a stern face, point a finger at him, shake my head, tell him "no hitting," and deposit him in the corner. He would just sit there quietly, shaking his head to himself the way I had just shaken mine at him as if he was reminding himself that there was not to be any hitting. Because it was late in the day and he was tired, he did it once or twice more, and I went through the same routine. Then once when he did it, I put him down on the ground and he took it from there! He made a stern face, shook his head, said some disapproving baby talk, and put himself in the corner. I managed to say, "That's right, Harrison. You hit Mama, and there is no hitting, so you choose to have a time-out" before I turned my back and died laughing.
You'll have to imagine his stern face and self-disciplining talk because I'm afraid to take photos and videos in case he thinks it's rewarding. Believe me -- it is adorable. You just have to hope that he pops you in the face sometime so you can see him put himself in the corner. :)
His behavior gets more irritating as he gets tired, of course, but I can see that he's trying to remind himself of what we do and do not want him to do -- even when his brain is worn out. A good example was one afternoon earlier this week when he and I were playing in his room. I was sitting on the floor, and he'd run around me in circles and then come hop on my back for a bouncy piggy-back ride. Sometimes he'd get over-excited and hit me on the back of my head -- it didn't actually hurt, but if it had been my face (or a little baby sibling), then it would have hurt. When he hit, I would put him on the floor, turn around with a stern face, point a finger at him, shake my head, tell him "no hitting," and deposit him in the corner. He would just sit there quietly, shaking his head to himself the way I had just shaken mine at him as if he was reminding himself that there was not to be any hitting. Because it was late in the day and he was tired, he did it once or twice more, and I went through the same routine. Then once when he did it, I put him down on the ground and he took it from there! He made a stern face, shook his head, said some disapproving baby talk, and put himself in the corner. I managed to say, "That's right, Harrison. You hit Mama, and there is no hitting, so you choose to have a time-out" before I turned my back and died laughing.
You'll have to imagine his stern face and self-disciplining talk because I'm afraid to take photos and videos in case he thinks it's rewarding. Believe me -- it is adorable. You just have to hope that he pops you in the face sometime so you can see him put himself in the corner. :)
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