Last week she observed a close friend of ours correcting her two year old. Afterwards, she commented to me how impressed she was with the mom’s perseverance. My new friend said, “Knowing this woman is mentored by you it was great to see what training looked like in the younger years.”
I am going to describe to you what this friend saw, because I really think this is an area many of us don’t understand. The two year old fussed at her mom. “I want to go play on the swings.” Mom bent down to her level and said, “No fuss. It is time to listen to the leader.” The cutie pulled away and made a fussy noise. Mom gave the child a small pinch on the leg and said, “No fuss. Stand nice.” Again the child squirmed and fussed. Mom was calm and constant, “No fuss” with a slightly firmer pinch. This continued for several exchanges until the two year old finally answered, “Yes, mom” and stood nicely next to her mom. Shortly after, the leader was done giving directions and the small children were free to play at the park.
It is so key for us moms to finish what we start; to persevere in training until our child responds correctly. Note: public training must not be a higher standard than what is required at home! Only carry over what is expected at home to the outside world. If a new misbehavior is noticed while out and about, address it but do not get into a training war over it. Take this new knowledge home and work on the training there, before expecting the higher standard with others