Is discipline kids at this age even a thing?!

I personally don’t think you can discipline at this age, my son thinks it’s a game if i say no. my son is also feral 😂 however we have started to redirect his behaviour to other toys or activities, for example if he’s jumping off the coffee table - i sit him down with me and build a tower. for the smacking i struggle with but i try to show a sad emotion and get him to do kind hands. i still explain when doing these thing that he mustn’t do it. every child is different and disciplining /correcting bad behaviour this young is so hard. i think it’s just a repetitive thing you have to do until they have that understanding x

I wouldn’t call it discipline at this age but I would call it boundaries setting. I’ve done whatever has come naturally (first time mum!) and came to realise that the most effective method for my little girl is to ask/tell her to do the action I want from her, not to tell her to stop the action she is doing. So for example, ‘food on the table please’… and tapping the table as I say it. Rather than ‘don’t drop the food on the floor’ or ‘no, not on the floor’. As all they are hearing otherwise is ‘floor’ and ‘drop/throw’. But this way she’s learnt what table means and it’s a positive reinforcement rather than constant no’s. I hope this helps! She understands things a lot more now, so I can extend it to explanations. ‘Food on the table please or in your mouth. Not on the floor’. Some kids have sensory desires for jumping off furniture and it’s not always them pushing boundaries. You’re doing great! the fact that it’s something you’re trying to figure out means you’re doing great xx

You're doing the right things, the only "mistake" I think you're making is your expectations! Which is why I think the old fashioned parenting methods became popular on the first place, too. We're told to expect instant results, and that disciplining children is basically controlling children. But actually, proper behavioural learning is slow! It's dependent upon learning emotional regulation skills, impulse control and developing bettter language skills. Those kind of changes take years and years. Employing verbal reasoning with a young child and them going on to do the same things over and over again anyway isn't a sign that it isn't working, every time you remain consistent and focus on teaching them (which is what discipline means) rather than controlling them, they are gaining skills that will set them up for life.

Thank you all for your constructive criticism and praise! It’s helped me understand and implement some new things! You guys are great mothers and whilst we don’t know each other, great supporters!