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12:06

Admin - Hello and welcome to our Live Chat on discipline and development. We have invited Doctor Sara Rizvi to answer your questions.

12:07

Admin - Doctor Rizvi is a pediatrician and an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine.

12:08

Rizvi - Hello everyone!

12:08

[Comment From Paula]
What is the best discipline for a 2-year old that can be used for say hitting someone?

12:10

Rizvi - I'll answer the question on disciplining a 2 year old who is hitting someone. The key is to teach them to stop hitting in a way that is effective in extinguishing the behavior.

12:11

Rizvi - Three important techniques that can be use are
1. Logical consequences
2. Natural consequences
3. Time out techniques

12:13

Rizvi - Logical consequences is most effective for behaviors where for example a child is playing roughly with a toy and breaks it...or keeps dropping something on the floor like food.....the logical consequence is that the toy breaks and the food is lost and they aren't usable any longer.

For hitting behavior...time out may be effective. Hitting behavior is often seen when the child becomes frustrated and resorts to acting out to get their way....attention is often the goal...even if it is negative attention.

12:15

Rizvi - For time out- a general rule is one minute for each year of age...so for a two year old...a two minute time-out would be appropriate.
Time out should occur immediately after the undesirable behavior, be sustained-meaning you can't give in before the ENTIRE two minutes is up....and it needs to occur in a place with no distractions or toys.

12:16

Rizvi - Being consistent with time-out when the child hits others will be helpful to extinguish the behavior...the child will learn that when they perform the bad behavior they get time-out and don't get the desired attention. I hope you find this answers your question...

12:16

[Comment From Bmoss]
At what age should I start using time out when my child disobeys

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