Same here Katelyn'sMom - explanation worked much better than redirection, from ridiculously young. (I'm not saying it *always* worked mind...) Same with redirecting emotions, btw: if he's upset about something, it seems to work a million times better to comment non-judgmentally on how he seems to be feeling and try to put it into words, than to try to distract him or jolly him along. (E.g. "you're absolutely furious because Daddy ate all the crisps before you could have any"). After having acknowledged his feelings, we can tell him if the way he's expressing them (or not expressing them!) isn't ideal and move on to problem-solving.
