2 year old discipline issues HELP!

DD was 2 in July as of late she started this kicking issue & just being "2".

We were driving to Dutch Wonderland & she kept kicking the back of my chair; we told her no; we told her we wouldn't be able to visit the park if she wasn't going to listen; she'd do it & laugh. We tried ignoring it; nothing. We kept complimenting her when she was sitting quietly. I finally ended up pushing my chair all the way up so she couldn't.

Then on the way home I was sitting in the back feeding Jack & she was pulling my hair & she started screetching LOUD. DH at one point reached back & slapped her leg. She stopped & cried, "my leg, no hit." But 2 minutes later was doing it again.

Lately too when I'm pumping & on the computer she'll come next to me & start hitting the computer looking for attention. I tell her no & pull her hand away but she continues to do it.

How do you discipline if you're in the car?

Do your 2 year old's generally NOT listen?

What does work at this age?


Reasoning definitely does not work b/c later I was saying how it hurts when she pulls mommy's hair & makes her sad & she started pulling it again.

Message edited 9/1/2009 8:10:52 AM.

Re: 2 year old discipline issues HELP!

Ugh the screaming in the car thing kills me Jaidy will do this out of nowhere and I jump. I just try to explain that Mommy is driving and that scares me blah blah blah... I know you tried to ignore and it didn't work but I would keep that up. Another thing I do is when she is being really rotten is I tell her as soon as we get home (or wherever we are going) that she is going to have a time out when we get out of the car. If she doesn't stop then be sure to do it. She also does the kicking thing but at her portable TV. When she does that I turn the TV off and then she will stop. It is just a phase and she is testing her limits (and Mommy's too ) I really find that consistency is the key and to always follow through with whatever threat you give Good Luck!!

Re: 2 year old discipline issues HELP!

My daughter has been doing those sorts of things for a few months now. It is very frustrating. I am trying to be consistent in her punishment however I'm at a loss. Time outs aren't working as good as they used to. Taking things away is ineffective (if it is a toy she will pick it up herself when you give a warning - take it to a room gate throw it over and say BYE BYE, then turn to me with an evil smile.

The key is to try to be consistent in whatever you do pick. Things are starting to get a little better but the screeching is still an issue here and none of us know how to get her to stop - removing her makes it worse, ignoring it does too.

It is a BIG testing age and I think at this age if she is like my DD she will continue to test and see how far she can get away with.

Re: 2 year old discipline issues HELP!

Thanks ladies, glad to see I'm not alone.

Re: 2 year old discipline issues HELP!

All I can say is I'm glad I'm not alone with this either! To the OP, I wish I had better advice for you because sometimes I feel we have tried everything too . I continue to ignore as well and I've taken off DS's shoes in the back on several occasions. Actually, right now, the spontaneous screaming in the car is worse. I keep telling myself it's a phase and we'll get through it.

Re: 2 year old discipline issues HELP!

ITA with PP. Two is a very big testing age and we have our share of testing here too. We have started taking away activities rather than things, like TV or going outside, when she acts up or doesn't listen. We give her a warning first. Usually that works, but we have had to take things away. For big things like being fresh and hitting us, she gets a time out. It's probably not the right thing to do, but it is working for us.

Good luck getting through the 2s!

Re: 2 year old discipline issues HELP!

Just wanted to let you know you are not alone! DD has never been good in the car. DH and I had a bad ride home with her last week and the only thing that "worked" was to turn the volume up on the radio and we sang along and tried to ignore her. She continued to freak out, but at least we were trying to have fun with it It's a hard age...DD has thrown her sippy cup (she has an amazing arm) at my head while I was driving....and there was nothing I could really do about it at the time except to tell her no and that she hurt mommy....no real advice, just wanted to let you know it's not just your kid!

Re: 2 year old discipline issues HELP!

You are not alone! Bry loves to scream in the car.
The only thing that works is listening to HIS CDs (its sad, I can't tell you whats on the radio these days...LOL)
Sometimes, if he's tired, he wont notice I switched to radio.
He also kicks the seat. I don't know why he yells. He does it in the house too sometimes and he gets time out for it. KNOCK HARD ON WOOD the time out works, but, obviously we can't do that in the car.
It's hard.

Re: 2 year old discipline issues HELP!

You can't reason with them at this age.

I haven't had much issue with him in the car - yet - but he likes having a toy with him. If he were to give me a problem, I would take the toy away.

Anything else gets a time out, which works perfectly for Cailen - I have given the details to how to do it on here before, but if you want it again, let me know!

Re: 2 year old discipline issues HELP!

Posted by lipglossjunky73

You can't reason with them at this age.

I haven't had much issue with him in the car - yet - but he likes having a toy with him. If he were to give me a problem, I would take the toy away.

Anything else gets a time out, which works perfectly for Cailen - I have given the details to how to do it on here before, but if you want it again, let me know!

Re: 2 year old discipline issues HELP!

DD is a little younger but acting the same way The car is not an issue (yet), but I know the evil smile a PP mentioned. This really is a testing time and I am happy to read others are going through the same thing.