Training an 18 mo old

1.  I am working on training my son to obey me the first time.  This is a difficult task, but he's coming along nicely.  I've found that the more he knows his boundaries, the better he is and more fun he has.

2.  I was using my hand as a "spanking" tool.  I put spanking in quotes because I pretty much pat his leg to get his attention not hurting him.  I have since switched from using my hand, as it was causing him to look concerned any time he saw it near him, to using a wooden spoon.  Now he knows the difference.  It is still being used to get his attention during the training process not as a tool for discipline.

3.  Even though the "spanking" does not hurt, he still doesn't like it and tries to put his hand there to prevent his leg from getting a smack.  So now I tell him to put his hands together.  I've tried other things but this is the first thing that actually works for him keeping his hands away from his leg :)

4.  We went to the grocery store today.  He was so good the entire time just like usual until we got to the check out counter and he saw apple juice.  He asked for some.  I informed him that he could have some when we got to the truck, but he had to be patient.  He didn't like that one bit, so he through a "tantrum".  (His tantrums are pretty minor compared to many tantrums I've seen.  He let out one scream, cried, and put a "not happy" face on.)  I explained very calmly that he now did not get any apple juice since he was not patient.  The I proceeded to tell him that tantrums are not ok and he needed to stop.  The tantrum lasted about 30 sec.  Then he was fine again.

5.  When we got up to the register to pay, I saw some suckers.  He loves suckers!  So I decided to get some for us.  I told him that if he's patient he can have a sucker when we get to the truck.  He was ok until we started leaving the counter and he didn't see any suckers in our possession.  He then started complaining and again I spoke with him.  He calmed down quickly.

6.  Then we went to another grocery store.  I told him that if he behaves well in this store he may have a sucker when we returned to the truck.  Shortly after telling him this, he asked for a sucker.  I calmly told him that if he asked again he would not get a sucker.  He was an angel the rest of the time and didn't ask for a sucker again.  When we returned to the truck, I told him to get in his seat and I'd give him a sucker.  He did just that  :)  As I gave him the sucker, I told him that he wouldn't always get something but sometimes he would.

7.  Patience is the most difficult thing to teach anyone.  It only gets harder the longer you wait.  I should have started sooner but didn't realize at the time how to teach it to a baby.  It's amazing how quickly babies learn yet we wait until they're toddlers before we teach them important social lessons.

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