Teaching your toddler No

For many parents and caregivers, old and new, teaching toddlers that No is No can be a tough job. But it is a task that must be accomplished sooner than later to avoid difficult situations from arising in the future at home and specially out of doors.

To begin with, one must realize that when your toddler does a task when you say No, he may not even understand that it is a wrong task or that he/she is being disobedient to you. Remember he/she is just a toddler learning his ways in the world. All he requires is your love and attention, to flourish and learn the world around him.

This realization is actually what will help you to teach your toddler that No is something you say when he/she does something you not appreciate, do not love and do not encourage. Remember what your toddler seeks? He seeks attention. Think back to a situation when you had a time saying no to an activity your toddler kept doing again and again. Can you imagine the amount of attention you had just given him without your knowledge? Your toddler may even be looking forward to the word No to identify more activities to capture your time and attention.

Thus the first step towards teaching your toddler No, is to begin by not chanting the word No a numerous time. Yes this will capture his attention, but in a different manner then you require. When you realize your toddlers about to do or is already involved in an activity you disapprove, walk over to him/her, say No in a calm and firm way, remove him/her from the area and distract his attention to an other activity, something safe and interesting. Remember, do not spend too much of your time with him in this process.

If he/she yet tries to go back to the activity you just said No, repeat the above procedure again calmly and this time also remove the distraction from his/her view temporarily. When you remain calm and firm, there is a higher chance that your toddler will respect you and give in gracefully rather than surrendering because he/she is scared or try to defy you.  Remember the rule, give respect gain respect, it counts for toddlers too.

Stay away from giving angry looks at the toddler, scolding or arguing when saying No, it only has higher chances of failure and will get both you and your toddler annoyed. You have to be strict in some situations, but he/she will learn better when you are calm and firm.