Hugo had his first 'time out' yesterday with a very surprising result!
When Chris came home from work, a switch went off in Hugo's head and he instantly turned into a needy wailing toddler after what had been a fairly nice day. It was evident that what he wanted so desperately was Chris' attention at a time when Chris needs to hit the ground running as we both prepare dinner, feed Eloise (that's me), run baths, tidy up and so on.
Feeling overwhelmed by the plaintive noises Hugo was making at an increasingly high volume, I grabbed him, placed him on his bed with a few books and told him he had to sit there and read until he calmed down. He was looking at me with his big dark eyes and in a sheepish voice, said, 'yeah'.
I stayed nearby, putting his toys and books back on their shelves as I watched and listened to him happily reading to himself. When he was ready for something else, he told me which toy he wanted and played with that for a while.
Eventually, he stood up on his bed and waited for my permission to get down and go play again. I asked him if he was calm, once again in his tiny voice, he replied, 'yeah' but this time it was followed by an adorable smile. I let him down and he happily ran off to play with a truck.
From that point, he was transformed; a little angel had replaced our upset toddler. He played and ate his dinner with gusto, running a happy commentary throughout. Hopped into the bath the second it was full and got ready for bed bouncing from the bathroom to the change table and into his bed. It was amazing!
While he was in his 'time out', he didn't make a single attempt to complain or argue. Instead, he seemed to understand what he was there for.
When he does something naughty, Chris and I have a sort of procedure we follow. We sit him down a little forcefully, tell him that what he did is a 'betise', explain why when possible and make him watch as we clean up around him. I then ask him if he has understood, to which the sheepish 'yeah' is the usual answer. Only when he has permission, can he get up and go play.
What's nice is that it isn't over the top but it seems effective as far as understanding what is naughty. When I say something is a betise, his face changes into a guilty look and he does what he is told. The time out on the bed was a step above but once again, it wasn't scary for him while still getting some sort of message across.
Time will tell whether this method will suffice for a while but in any case, the pleasure we all felt afterwards set a much better tone for the rest of the night.
When Chris came home from work, a switch went off in Hugo's head and he instantly turned into a needy wailing toddler after what had been a fairly nice day. It was evident that what he wanted so desperately was Chris' attention at a time when Chris needs to hit the ground running as we both prepare dinner, feed Eloise (that's me), run baths, tidy up and so on.
Feeling overwhelmed by the plaintive noises Hugo was making at an increasingly high volume, I grabbed him, placed him on his bed with a few books and told him he had to sit there and read until he calmed down. He was looking at me with his big dark eyes and in a sheepish voice, said, 'yeah'.
I stayed nearby, putting his toys and books back on their shelves as I watched and listened to him happily reading to himself. When he was ready for something else, he told me which toy he wanted and played with that for a while.
Eventually, he stood up on his bed and waited for my permission to get down and go play again. I asked him if he was calm, once again in his tiny voice, he replied, 'yeah' but this time it was followed by an adorable smile. I let him down and he happily ran off to play with a truck.
From that point, he was transformed; a little angel had replaced our upset toddler. He played and ate his dinner with gusto, running a happy commentary throughout. Hopped into the bath the second it was full and got ready for bed bouncing from the bathroom to the change table and into his bed. It was amazing!
While he was in his 'time out', he didn't make a single attempt to complain or argue. Instead, he seemed to understand what he was there for.
When he does something naughty, Chris and I have a sort of procedure we follow. We sit him down a little forcefully, tell him that what he did is a 'betise', explain why when possible and make him watch as we clean up around him. I then ask him if he has understood, to which the sheepish 'yeah' is the usual answer. Only when he has permission, can he get up and go play.
What's nice is that it isn't over the top but it seems effective as far as understanding what is naughty. When I say something is a betise, his face changes into a guilty look and he does what he is told. The time out on the bed was a step above but once again, it wasn't scary for him while still getting some sort of message across.
Time will tell whether this method will suffice for a while but in any case, the pleasure we all felt afterwards set a much better tone for the rest of the night.
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