I’ve become my worst nightmare

I highly suggest looking up Lisa Bunnage on TikTok and watching her videos! She’s gives SO much advice on toddlers and kids and it’s honestly life saving. I’ve had to go back to her page every time I didn’t know how to deal with a certain toddler stage. What I’ve learned from her is TELLING our toddlers something is basically pointless. We need to show them what we are trying to communicate. For example: if my toddler starts hitting me, I need to step away from her to create a boundary and show her that I’m not okay with her hitting me. Another example: if my toddler starts throwing her food or a toy on the ground and I want her to stop, I give her 2 warnings “Please stop doing that” or “Don’t throw that on the floor”. And if she continues, I simply take it away from her and tell her “no, ma’am” and don’t give it back to her. Their attention span is so short, so when correcting something has to be done then and there. Also, taking the item away is their punishment…

My toddler is the same. I’ve started deepening my voice and saying thing firmly so it’s serious but not as scary for it but she still listens. Honestly though lately I’ve had to say stop so many times to what she’s doing and she keeps doing it so I give her two times to stop then time out. Don’t beat yourself up too much. You’re helping shape her even if you have to be firm now and she will be better for it ❤️ my daughter is responding faster with timeouts than when I yelled at her. She started saying “mean mama” and I was very sad and heart broken.

..No need to further get mad at them or stay mad at them. They’ll catch on with what’s right and what’s wrong. I’ve also learned that while yelling at them is second nature, you need to protect your peace as well and pick your battles. I hope this helps!

I really try not to yell and talk and explain. Time out doesn’t really work as she doesn’t care. She will play with her hands , feet ,wall and have a blast in her time out. My issue is having to ask the same thing 10x and her fight me every step of the way. If I ask her to change her diaper for example she fill fight kick scream or act like she didn’t hear me asking and if I yell one and done she’s laying down ready to be changed.

I feel this... I'm also struggling cuz I'm also pregnant so it's not helping 🙃

One tip I learned working under a 70 year old preschool owner was to sit them down and have them look at your eyes. Eye contact is key. Then tell them what you’re trying to say. Often times we tell our keys xyz but they’re not actually physically listening. I try not to repeat and have my words be thrown into the trash. That way it’s not just words to our child, but something of importance when we are speaking to him.