Ahh, yes, discipline. The easy, natural, carefree part of parenting. Said no one. ever.🤭 This parenting thing? No one wrote a manual on it (Can someone get on that?) And most of us are just winging it. So when we see our toddlers do something "bad," we instinctively take away something good. And I get the logic! BUT, it won't work for our toddlers. If we want discipline to work, to prevent that bad behavior from happening next time, we need to tailor our discipline strategy with their brains in mind. Toddler brains are waaay under construction 🧠🚧, still forming the areas of the brains that dictate impulse control, language and most importantly: the concept of time. According to toddlers yesterday was Christmas, tomorrow is Easter and they don't need to use the potty because "I did two days ago."😲 So, if we want our consequences to work, aka stop bad behavior, there's two parts to related consequences: ✨INSTANT IN TIME✨ The consequence needs to be implemented instantly at the moment of the behavior. Their brains JUST can't make the connection between losing ice cream 6 hours after hitting sister with the car.⁠ And when it's time for ice cream 6 hours later, there's gonna be a HUGE meltdown. His mind has forgotten all about the toy car incident. Now he's confused, mad and growing more and more resentful by the second. You know what resentment turns into? BAD BEHAVIOR! ✨RELATED TO THE BEHAVIOR✨ The key for toddlers? Simple. Easy to follow. What in the EFF does ice cream have to do with throwing a car at his sister? Your kid simply cannot learn this logic. And, alas, they STILL haven't learned how to not hit. ⁠ Here's some more Related Consequence examples you can whip out confidently today: - Toddler is hitting brother with the car --> the car goes away and we try again later ⁠ - Toddler runs away while near a street --> we're holding hands for rest of walk ⁠ - Toddler throws food on ground --> food will go away for this meal ✨Struggling with tantrums, power struggles and disciplining in a way that both WORKS and protects your kid's self esteem? Our course Winning the Toddler Stage is here to help! For parents of kids ages 1-6. Link in bio!✨