Dexter's First Post

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Discipline

The two's have not been so terrible for us (yet) although Dexter has become increasingly strong willed and expressive when frustrated. We want to promote Dexter's exploratory spirit so there are few things that he is not allowed to do and, generally, he's very good at following directions when we tell him not to touch something or to be gentle because something is fragile. However, there are certain things that we believe Dexter should not be allowed to get away with such as throwing toys or being rough with My Bologna. When these things happen, and they occasionally do, we give Dexter a Supernanny-style "time out". The first time I tried this, I was so nervous that Dexter wouldn't stay in the chair - he was screaming and writhing as I said, "Dexter, Mommy put you here because you were pulling My Bologna's tail and that is not acceptable. You need to stay here until Mommy takes you off the chair." I had to fight every instinct to stay and keep talking, to keep my hands on him and make sure he stayed on the chair. Images of parents struggling for hours to do this technique with their out of control children on Supernanny ran through my head. But I walked away and engaged in cleaning up some toys in the living room. Dexter was still screaming and in a few seconds I noticed that he had slithered off the chair. I calmly put him back on the chair and told him that he needs to stay there until Mommy says he can come down. This time he stayed. He stopped crying. He watched me closely as I tried to look busy with something else. After a full minute (felt like an hour), I came back and told him that Mommy put him on the chair because he had pulled My Bologna's tail and that that wasn't OK. Then I gave him a hug, told him I love him, and let him down. He immediately got engaged in another activity and all was good. I was amazed that it worked! Ben and I have each successfully implemented this technique with excellent results - most of the time Dexter doesn't even try to get down. Sometimes the screaming continues. But Ben's and my responses are always the same. My hope is that we don't have to do it often but that by doing it consistently Dexter learns that he cannot get away with crossing the very few lines that we have put in place.

What Is He Doing?

Licking the air???

How Did That Happen?

Yesterday, Dexter apparently moved his rocking chair from his room into the hallway. When Daddy noticed, Dexy acted like he had nothing to do with it.