what form of discipline is appropriate for a 15 mo old - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

bobgracie · 11-08-2008, 12:28 PM

what form of discipline is appropriate for a 15 mo old, he is too young to reason with, too young for time out, what do I do

LauraLu · 11-08-2008, 01:21 PM

I feel like I'm in the same boat as you right now with my 15 month old daughter. She likes to get into EVERYTHING.

You're absolutely right when you say that you cannot reason with a 15 month old. It won't work. I use very simple words. For example, our biggest issues are my dd putting her hands into the trash can, our drinks, or finding the stairs if we forget to put the gate up. I just say "No trash, no drink, or no stairs" very firmly and remove her. Distraction works best at this age.

If she keeps going back to it, then on occassion, I have given a light swat on the fingers with a firm "No," however she usually just looks at me and laughs. Go figure. I can't see hurting a baby out of her own curiousity. The first time I swatted her fingers I cried and she laughed! HA!

I say go with distraction and remove anything that you know will be tempting for him!

megss · 11-08-2008, 07:27 PM

I am having issues with this as well. Grace is 14 months and also getting into everything. We had a tree out on our enclosed porch all spring and summer, and I recently brought in the house because it is getting cold. Her favorite thing to do lately is to dig in the dirt. It makes such a mess, and gets stuck underneath her finger nails. Then she steps in it and tracks it all over the house. When ever I say "no Grace!" she also laughs at me. The other day I had just finished washing her hands, and before I knew it she was headed to the tree and made mud. She knows I don't like it, but yet she continues to do it. Today I was in the kitchen cleaning up after lunch. I started walking into the living room to check on her, and I heard her run away. I look over, and sure enough, there is a big pile of dirt on the floor. Then I have to wait until she goes to bed to vacuum, because it scares her so much! LOL! At least she understands that it is wrong, right? There is no where I can put that tree where she doesn't have access to it. I can't put it in the basement or else it will not get any sunlight.
The most effective form of discipline that I have found is to tell them with words, in a slightly stern voice, that it is wrong. Then show them something else that they are allowed to do or play with.

doodlebugsmom · 11-08-2008, 11:11 PM

Fifteen months is NOT too young for time outs. That's what we do. We tell our son to stop whatever he's doing that's undesirable. If he does it again we say, "Listen, if you do that ONE more time you're going to go have some chill out time." Then if he does it again he gets told, "You were warned, now you need to chill out for 5 minutes." Its not a time out so much as a few minutes in the playpen to try and have him forget what he was doing and redirect his attention. Most of the time, when he gets back out he doesn't continue the behavior that landed him there. As he gets older we'll begin TRUE timeouts.

katyhilton · 11-08-2008, 11:20 PM

REAL discipline at such a young age is, in my opinion inappropriate and will only serve to confuse and scare your child. At this age I think you should tell a child no, then direct him towards a new activity. If he insists say no sternly and pick him up and move to another room so he gets the hint. I don't know what sort of misbehaving is going on... but with a child so young it is probably not intentional (unless he is super smart genius baby). If improper behavior occurs at any age because they don't "get it" then discipline should not me administered. If your child KNOWS what he is doing is wrong and has been explained to why it is wrong and is capable of comprehending the explanation he was given - THAT is when you start the time outs, go-to-your-room, no cartoons for you, spanking, or whatever discipline route you want to take. How you discipline is a personal choice and what works differs greatly from one child to the next even with siblings. It's all trial and error and what you are comfortable with. But again... if the kid don't understand he is doing something wrong you need to use it as an opportunity to start letting him know certain things are wrong/right. Once you know he "gets it" start slowly with the discipline... and see what is effective for both you and your child.