Discipline tips please

[Jaffakake]

Ok, we normally have a pretty good handle on discipline for my generally angelic 3.5yr old. However, tonight things went pear shaped when trying to get him ready for bed. We have a 2 week old baby & I've had a cesarean birth. I understand things have all been a bit different for ds1, but I'm not willing to allow him to do whatever he likes!

Usually all it takes is 'final warning, this is what I want you to do, 1 2 3, this is what I want you to do' & he does it. On occasion we ask him to stay in his room for 3 minutes to calm down after he's hit/kicked etc or been very hyper & defiant.

It got to timeout in his room stage after him hitting & headbutting me and I had to pick him up & put him there, which obviously is a very silly thing for me to do post cesarean!

Any advice on what I should try instead? I'm increasingly not going to be able to count of Dh to be home in time for bedtime, so am going to have to find a strategy that works.

My DS is told he will be put outside (back garden) whatever the weather if behaviour continues. It works. Took us a few times of following through with the threat. Thankfully happened in summer.
Other things have been to remove treats or bedtime stories etc. And following through.
If all fails it could be a case of leaving him in his room and ignoring him until he calms down or your DP arrives home to help handle it??

Maybe I should threaten to eat his Easter eggs!

remove a treat or a toy as that is physically easier for you to carry out. Make sure you follow thRough every time. If a toy is removed there should be a time limit or other way of getting it back (24 hours and an apology or doing whatever it is you asked him to do?).

Oh, and there is one punishment for whatever the poor behaviour was, and a second for refusing to comply with the punishment ( ie, if you told him to go to his room and he refused)