�I want to have a modern family where I use logic and reason and education as discipline. �I lived with the hippys in Woodstock for 7 years because I love peace. �I live in Texas where everybody agrees I'm crazy because I refused to spank a baby before he turns two (by then it's too late, they say).
Hey now, not ALL Texans spank their children. Might just be the area of Texas you live in. Austin is a very liberal city and parents around here would be mortified by such acts.
DD has never been spanked even as a baby, though I might have considered a pop on the bottom or hand if and only if she put herself in a dangerous situation such as a hot stove and wouldn't listen. My grandmother lived in an old house with open flamed gas heaters so I was sure we were going to run into this problem. Nope. Even at a very young age of crawling she understood what hot meant. I only had to explain it to her once and she left it alone. By 2 1/2 she was cooking her own eggs on the stove because she fully understood the importance of safety.
We also never had the terrible twos and I think this was more to do with her ability to communicate and my understanding that they are seeking more independence. But in the last few months we are witnessing the attitude. I don't know if it is because she will be 4 next month and 4 year olds tend to talk back or something else is going on but she is definitely all about attitude now.
Oh and timeouts are a joke in this house. She could care less that she has to seat out for a few minutes and I suspect it is because she understands the concept of time and how it really isn't taking away much from her day. That and she has a great imagination and can play without any toys. Even making her go to her room where she doesn't have toys is laughable because she can play up there for hours. We discovered a long time ago that reasoning is the best method with our DD. Explaining why something is not appropriate and staying consistent with our reasons. The kid doesn't forget a thing. We also encourage her to argue her case which means no childish acts of crying and whining but actual reasons why she feels she has the right to do something or have something. The minute she cries or whines we close the discussion. And when she does argue and comes up with valid point we accept that. And another big one for us is we believe that we might be her parents and adults but we are certainly NOT perfect and if DD points this out to us, we have no problem admitting it and apologizing for it.
