We're closing in on the 2nd birthday and I'm finally realizing that I might need to start some form of discipline. We've been dealing with biting, hitting and most recently kicking for the past several months but I've pretty much had the "boys will be boys" attitude. I mean come on, they are going to have to live together for the next 16 years. I'm sure we'll experience our fair share of battles.
Don't get me wrong. I've been "redirecting" their habits for the last year. And what I've learned about "redirection" is that it is certainly not "discipline." Why would Will want to play with a puzzle when he could kick Matt in the face and watch him cry? A puzzle can hold their attention for as long as they can throw it across the room, but making one another cry NEVER gets old.
Redirection DOES work when you want a child to stop wallowing in their fit of self-pity. I can usually stop the tears just by asking, "Where's Emma? I don't know where Emma is?" I think the only reason this particular tactic works is because they are actually afraid of dogs and they probably interpret my question as "Emma is loose in the house and at any moment she might spring upon you and thrash you with her tail. Hurry! Find her before she finds you!"
I'm sure I could read hundreds of books about how to discipline, but why would I want to read a discipline book when I could be reading Us Weekly? So I recently went to the trenches for advice from some fellow twin moms and they broke it down very simply for me. It took maybe 3 sentences to explain. If there's anything a twin mom understands, it's the the necessity for simplicity!
Don't get me wrong. I've been "redirecting" their habits for the last year. And what I've learned about "redirection" is that it is certainly not "discipline." Why would Will want to play with a puzzle when he could kick Matt in the face and watch him cry? A puzzle can hold their attention for as long as they can throw it across the room, but making one another cry NEVER gets old.
Redirection DOES work when you want a child to stop wallowing in their fit of self-pity. I can usually stop the tears just by asking, "Where's Emma? I don't know where Emma is?" I think the only reason this particular tactic works is because they are actually afraid of dogs and they probably interpret my question as "Emma is loose in the house and at any moment she might spring upon you and thrash you with her tail. Hurry! Find her before she finds you!"
I'm sure I could read hundreds of books about how to discipline, but why would I want to read a discipline book when I could be reading Us Weekly? So I recently went to the trenches for advice from some fellow twin moms and they broke it down very simply for me. It took maybe 3 sentences to explain. If there's anything a twin mom understands, it's the the necessity for simplicity!
