she loves to help :)
When I was pregnant with our daughter, my husband and I already knew some things for sure (though not her gender, we waited until the birth to find that out).
And that no matter what, we would always love her. We want her to be who she is and feel confident being herself.
And yes, no spanking. or threatening. or demeaning her.
It wasn't until I got some books that I knew our philosphy had a name, attachment parenting. This phrase was coined by Dr. Sears and his wife.
When Sophie was still around 8 months old, I had purchased a book on Amazon called:
The Discipline Book: How to Have a Better-Behaved Child From Birth to Age Ten
But yesterday, I just got the book out of the garage and started reading it.
It made me feel good, because I felt like it was validation that I was already on the right track with her.
I already knew, through reading other books on positive discipline, that when your child is doing something they are not suppose to do, you say something like "no don't do that" and if he or she doesn't stop, then you need to remove them from the situation.
Not forcefully, not meanly. Just gently.
So yesterday, when Sophie attempted to play with the LED christmas lights - regretting my decision to buy them and put them up - I gently plucked her up and set her down else where. She quickly became engaged in a different activity, with no grunts or screams. I reinforced my "no" by removing her from the situation.
And the other day, we were at a thrift store, and she started trying to get an ornament out of a package that they were selling, I told her no, but her attempt was continuous. I took her hand away, and she growled at me. I decided to use another positive discipline technique:
Remove from situation and replace with something else.
I took her and showed her something else that was safe to look at, and she was fine.
Sometimes it takes a few more minutes, sometimes just mere seconds, but positive discipline is worth it. You feel more connected to your child and your child learns to trust you.
And they learn to manage their emotions. This is another hot topic, how to raise a child with a high EQ. But more about that later :)
After reading part of that book last night, it gave me an inspiration to start blogging about our positive parenting experiences so be sure to check back for more on this topic!
