Naughty step just not working is it me or is there a better method for a 2yo

[rebelmum1]

It's just plain not working, dd thinks its funny and runs away and it gets really stressful she just thinks i want her to say sorry.

I totally agree wiht colditz and Aloha!
Only other thing I can add ( don't think I have seen it mentioend) is that you jsut say "NO" and take her away from teh situation...maybe with an age appropriate explanation or a simple, we don't do that...something along those lines!

Agree with Colditz and Aloha too. I also get DD who is 2 involved in clearing up the mess she made. Depending on her mood and the nature of the mess, this might be straight away or coming back to her after distracting her, taking the heat off the situation.

We do it with DS, he's two and 4 months. I'm not sure how much of it he understands but I have made sure he knows he has to sit there until I come and get him. One reason I like it is because it takes them out of the situation/behaviour, it is calm and when I go to him I am able to sit and explain to DS why he shouldn't have been doing it. He listens better then. He does say sorry and strokes us, but I agree with Aloha in that he dosen't really understand what he is saying. He understands though that by being put there mummy/daddy didn't like what he was doing.

can i please jump in and ask how you guys would have dealt with this situation?

Collected 6 year old DS from his football club today and walked with him and DD (just 2) to car park. Aksed both of them to stand right up close to car while I put our bags in the boot so that Ii could then lift DD in. As I turned to open the boot, DD ran off! As the football session had just finshed there were about 50 cars in teh school car park, all either moving or about to be moving.
I think I screamed out her name (a bit like a fishwife I think) and saw her in front of our car. She was laughing her pretty white socks off and as I went to walk towards her she ran off in the other direction.
This continued for probably only a minute or so although it felt like ten. When i managed to grab her and try and explain why it was a naughty thing to do she just kept laughing in my face.
I ended up apoligising to all the people near me for raising my voice so but as you can imagine I was scared because of the cars but also so cross because she was being so deliberately defiant.
Although as I look back on it now, she perhaps just thoguth she was playing a great game.

Anyway, i know I handled it badly and I would appreciate some advice on what to do if it happens again (it's happened before so I'ms ure the 'again' option is a certainty)

DS has never done anything like that before so i have no experience to draw back on.

Many TIA.

reins

By which I mean

Really, (please don't feel got at) the situation was your fault, not hers. She's not old enough for you to trust her to follow instructions on safety. If she isn't in the position where she can run away, she won't.

Nightmare! I would have shouted too. Hate car parks. I'd put her in the car before you put the bags in teh boot. In he supermarket I keep dd in the trolley until I have loaded if the weather is nice, or put her in the car then unload. She is quite good about roads, but car parks make me very jumpy.

mckenzie, I agree with colditz that she's too young to follow that instruction properly. I'd have dumped the bags on the floor, told DS to stand by the car, and put DD into the car first. Once she was strapped in, then do the bags and DS.

points taken. Perhaps because DS is so good about things like that I expect too much of DD.
Thanks for your replies.

This is an interesting thread - DS is a fair bit younger (20 months) but is quite 'naughty' at times. I try to distract etc but sometimes it just isn't possible. Over the last few weeks since DD has arrived we've had every attention seeking 'naughty' behaviour going and he can be very strong willed if he isn't getting his own way. After a lot of trial and error we have found that we basically need to pick our battles. Now for example if he doesn't want his coat on before going out, we don't put it on him. He goes out, starts to get distracted by other things and then he'll wear it. I'm too exhausted to have a fight and discipline him most of the time. I don't think I'm letting him get away with things as some behaviours just aren't tollerated such as hitting. Still not sure quite how to deal with them though!

Sometimes though the only thing that alleviates a really angry tantrum is to put him in a different room for a few moments of time out. We have glass doors so can keep an eye on him out in the hallway.

Biggest problem is DH is far less tollerant and often shouts at DS, tells him off for something that doesn't really warrant a telling off or puts him in time out when he's not totally out of control. I think these things are kind of confusing DS though...

definitely picking battles is a good one. As for flour on kitchen floor, perhaps fun with the dustpan and brush - my DS loves sweeping it up, but unfortunately that means he pours it out in order to sweep it up... You have to laugh.