discipline for 22 month old

[bozemum]

DS is generally pretty well bahaved. But very active and gets bored quickly. As long as he's busy he's usually pretty good. But hes started doing some slightly 'naughty' things. Like pouring milk from his sippy cup on the floor or sofa. Or deliberately dropping food off his highchair. I try telling him no but it doesn't seem to have any effect. The other day I came back into the living room to find him pouring milk all over the sofa and he looked up and gave me a cheeky grin, like he knew he was doing something wrong.
But I'm not sure what sort if discipline is appropriate at his age. Is he too young for 'time out' or 'naughty step'?

Yes, I think he is far too young. I don't think he is old enough to have any concept of what is 'naughty' and what you expect of him. At this age, the best you can do is remove him from the situation so try giving him a drink in a cup with a lid. He's just experimenting and finding out how things work. If you do a bit of reading about child development then you'll know what you can expect from him behaviour-wise.

My lo, at 20 months knows exactly when he's doing something he shouldn't be doing. They are all different - some will know, some won't.
I'm not sure what your lo's speech is like, but regardless of how well he communicates, I would suggest explaining to him about good and less desirable behaviour.
Remove him from the situation with a firm 'no' but also explaining why, such as "no, you must not tip your drink over the sofa because it'll be wet and mommy won't be able to sit down".
That's how I handled the situation with mine anyway and he stopped pretty quickly - possibly instantly as I don't remember another occurance. I knew he understood because when he had the thought to do it again he looked at me and said "no, wet". At the time, he also recognised that the car was wet after it had been raining and the water was wet when he washed his hands so I was fully confident he understood. I gave him lots of praise for remembering and agreeing, again that it's not a good idea because it'll make the sofa wet and mommy won't be able to sit down. That was a few months ago and he grasps it so much better now.
Once you're confident they have an understanding of what they're doing, then time out etc can be introduced if that's what way you choose to deal with things. But, I personally wouldn't resort to this without confidence that it's deliberate and there's an understanding there.

My dd is 21 months and also does these things. i simply reinforce the behaviour I want and say No, no, no to things like that. Sometimes I say a bit more, but i think a short aswer with only a few words work best (but then my Lo is only just saying 2 words together). I do think they're just experimenting to be honest. My dd does sometimes say "no" before I do, but only after she's done what shes done. Id be more likely to think it was 'naughty' if she said "no" and then poured the milk.

i agree with eaurouge...too young for naughty. They can't be naughty unless they fully understand why they have been asked not to do some thing and undertand the value of the request. You may have to explain many times in different ways before they get why. I liketigerlillys demonstration of this esp that it isn't just the wetness but the consequences of that (mummy can't sit down). You can elaborate as age appropriate...it will smell, cost lots of money to replace etc.

I m fully agree with tigerlillyd02 as I also practice the same with my 2.9 yr DD. he knows he is doing something wrong/ funny. at a time seems like he is enjoying it by irritating me. instead of saying NO - I decided to be quite at his habit and wiped it calmly.( same Situation) but when he is in a mood of playing and talking to me I explained what makes me happy and appreciated him for his previous good behavior.. It makes lots and lots of difference in d behavior. Sometimes you try feeling like his age and enjoy things like this - its fun u get different actions moods faces by kids ( helped me to get nice pics this way)

Thanks for your messages. It has made me feel a bit better. My gut instinct was that he is too young to really know whats right and wrong, still experimenting etc. But I was starting to wonder when I should start giving him more responsibility for his actions. My sister did 'timeout' with her DS from about 2 and he's really well bahaved. I was starting to wonder whether I was letting DS away with too much. And he might start getting really naughty and my sister would be tutting at me!! His speech and understanding is really good. So he should understand pretty well if I explain. I try going down this route for a while and see how we go.