Setting boundaries in the child: rules and consequences
Your child starts dancing around on your nose? Here you can read how to set clear but fair rules and how consistent you should stay.
The question of how to react to your child’s cheeky or naughty behavior is probably more and more preoccupying you. Because you surely realize that your baby is often aware that certain behavior is not desired. Often it even laughs mischievously at you while it is smearing the lunch porridge in its hair. But how can you react and set limits? Can a baby already understand rules? Do sanctions already make sense at this age?
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ToggleFew rules and consistency – how to set boundaries
Of course, your child is not always aware that he is “misbehaving”. That is why it is important to introduce a few, very clear rules and to comply with them consistently. Make it clear to your child what you expect from him, i.e. confirm positive actions with “yes”, forbid negative actions with “no”. You are the role model for your child, so you should also set an example for him or her desired behavior.
What are the most important rules?
It is important that you do not suddenly overwhelm your child with a confusion of rules. The most important rules concern the safety of your child. For example, never let it put small things in your mouth that pose a risk of choking. If, on the other hand, it sucks on the remote control, this is not life-threatening and does not have to lead to a no rule that your child has to remember (you can of course still take the remote control away from him).
In addition, hitting, scratching and biting should be banned from the beginning. Even if your child doesn’t mean it badly, maybe even laughs and it doesn’t hurt you, you should immediately make it clear that such behavior is not possible. Otherwise, your child will have great problems dealing with other children later on.
What to do in case of rule violation?
Your child understands only direct connections at this age. This means that in case of misconduct, you should consistently say “no” in a serious voice. If it doesn’t stop, you can stop the misconduct (for example, sit on the floor if it hits you on your lap). It makes no sense to send him out of the room or take away his favorite toy, because he cannot yet understand the context. Important: Never give your child a slap! This reaction does not make your baby learn to follow rules, but only creates fear, which can jeopardize your relationship!
Parenting is a real challenge for parents. Our little ones often have their own minds and their own ideas, which sometimes do not correspond to ours. In order to make the topic of raising children a little easier for you, we haveput together nine parenting guides in this article that can help you in everyday life.