All those that have a 'naughty step/spot'

[SomeMightSay]

At what age did you start using it?
Ds is 19m, is that too young?
He keeps trying to hit and kick the new baby and obviously I can't always anticipate the next move so sometimes don't manage to block him.
Atm, I am just telling ds sternly "no" and turning him away from the baby, but need to do something else. I don't think he understands that he's being told off.
I like theidea of the naughty step in stead of me always shouting at him, or tapping him on the hand.
Also any other ideas?
TIA

MrsMH Everything Pat has to deliver either gets lost or broken! Then they all act like he's saved the day, I tell you, if he was my postman and all my stuff got here late and in 2 pieces, I'd give him a piece of my mind!
There was a thread on here a few weeks ago where someone suggested that he must be a gangster!

At the baby room at our nursery (up to 2 yrs old), they tell them not to do something and if they do it again (although with something like hitting the baby, that warrants acting the first time), they tell them to sit down on the floor (wherever they are at the time) and then say sorry by touching the injured party's arm gently (and saying sorry
if they can talk).

It works really well.

Never had a naughty step (preens self and ponders what a great idea it was to send kids to nans every weekend )

But i did see today, and laughed, a pad for the kid to sit on whilst in time out.

MUST go see on ebay lol

i have a naughty step, two in fact, one at the bottom of the stairs and one at the top. i started when ds was walking, he knew by that stage when no meant no so i figured a consequence could be understood aswell, ds is 3.5 now and i have to be honest, it doesnt have the same effect now. he screams and kicks when taken to it, shouts while he's on it, quietens down to get off (after an apology) but ten minutes later will do exactly the same thing he was put on it for, even with warnings to stop. it could be just my ds, but thats my experience of it. if anybody has tips on how better to enforce it i would really appreciate them.

Oooh, it's hard, isn't it! I would totally agree with screamingabdab - including the bit about it passing!

I tried lots of things with my 1st, DD, now 4.8. With hindsight, I think I was probably wasting my time because I think most of the stuff I was trying, like the naughty step, was beyond her ability to understand or learn from.

DS is 2 now and I don't even attempt the things I tried with DD with him - it just seems futile. I couldn't get away with the naughty step with DS now, never mind when he was 18mo.

I agree that it's better to try to soothe his jealousy with more attention, if poss, but I fully know that this isn't always poss. As screaming says, it's easy to start to think, 'OMG, what have I bred?', but don't. It's natural and it'll pass. I just say sternly 'We don't hit'. Sadly, you've just got to live through it, I think. Patience and persistance and firm, low, calm 'no's' would be my best advice - but it's easier said than done. We had our moments but DD was relatively tolerant of DS as a baby but it's only very recently that DD has actually started to enjoy his company and to play with him.

However, safety has to come first. How about putting him in his cot or playpen or even fastening him into his pushhair for a couple of minutes to give you time to calm down or if you do want to reinforce the 'no, that was naughty' thing? At least that way you could walk away, rather than have the escalation of the on/off the naughty step routine.

When DD was 3 we tried the naughty step with gusto but it just turned minor conflicts into nuclear wars and, I thought, served no purpose. Just the simple thing of calling it the 'thinking step' instead makes it easier now she's 4. I ask her to sit on the 'thinking step' and think about what she's done. She seems to accept that more easily and I feel better too because it makes me feel like I'm being less negative.

Although I was fully in favour of devices such as the naughty step, I'm wondering now how useful they are. I want respectful and disciplined kids but, after having read 'How to talk so kids will listen and listen so kids will talk' I'm starting to think that punishment is a distraction from actually getting them to think about their behaviour. It makes a thought provoking (but sometimes toe-curlingly twee) read for when your kids are older.

Thanx unrealisticExpectations Earlier today ds1 was climbing all over the baby activity mat, the baby wasn't on it, but I want ds1 to know that it is something he cannot walk over no matter what, I told him to get off and he laughed and started jumping up and down so I held his wrist and eased him off iyswim and told him to sit down and stay there, of course he was straight up so think maybe your right about naughty step turning small issues into major problems.
I know ds1's behaviour is completely normal, and it's not entirely his fault, it must be so hard for him, so will see how it goes.
Thanx for responses all.