Smacking

[kalex]

I really really really don't want this to turn into a slagging match.

But I smack my children, when they have done something highly dangerous (liking walking into the road or trying to touch hot pots).

Now please don;t jump all over - don't let that happen, coz I live on a main road, and I'm a single parent and at 3 and 7 can't keep them out of the kitchen.

Would love to stop but am stuck, What else would you do if your child tries to walk into oncoming traffic

LSS, sounds like a normal toddler testing the boundaries. I did suggest a way to try and DEMONSTRATE to him the dangers of crossing the road. I do agree though that a lack of discipline at this age can lead to all sorts of problems later in life. The point is, you've tried smacking and it has not worked. (We've done the odd smack, but found it did not work for us, so mainly use timeout - which you can't do because of the time of day it occurs, when you are on your way out). Of course, kids know when you are in a hurry, or trying to be on your best behaviour. Maybe you need to try leaving home 15 minutes earlier so that you will have time to deal with the behaviour when it occurs (as per some of the pretty good suggestions on this thread).

Otherwise, my guru is Dr Phil (who you might find useful, or might think is cr*p), but I attach the link here in case you find anything useful on it. I was very sceptical of him at first, but he is a registered psychologist, and helps hundreds of families with behavioural and discipline issues. He personally does not agree with smacking, but suggests other techniques (depending on the problem and childs age) and gets amazing results. And he does specifically deal with how kids try to get to you when it is a high stress time

Off to check out Dr Phil too.........