How old for discipline?

Question

Im just wondering how old your baby was when you began to discipline them/ when they caught on to what it was meant for?! My son is fairly well behaved (7 months) but im sure that will change! i was just thinking about it so i thought id ask! thanks!

Answer 1

haha good question! Mostly it depends on the child...I have two children, one is almost three and the other is 18 months, my oldest realized what was going on at about 6 or 7 months (and she walked at 8 months..handful of a kid!!)
My youngest was about a year old before I needed to discipline her, granted that she si WAY more laid back then my oldest!!!
Good luck!
Merry Christmas!!

Answer 2

You should be teaching them yes and no, right and wrong from the beginning... the manner in which you do it varies by age though.

7 months is very young... not even getting into too much trouble right now.

My son is 14 months old and he is definitely starting to test us. He hears my voice but ignores me... :) He also does wrong things repeatedly to see what I'll do. Patience and consistency is all you need at this age. Time out etc isn't good yet... that comes around age 2 or so. Then they start to learn consequences for their actions, that is when actual "punishments" should start.

For now, and awhile, just focus on consistency.

Answer 3

I think it all depends developmentally on the child. When they are old enough to understand what they are doing is wrong is a great time. But even a little younger may be helpful. When they start crawling and getting into things you will have to tell them "no" so they realize what they shouldnt be doing, it might seem silly but TRUST ME they will learn very quickly right from wrong. I get weekly newsletters from www.babycenter.com and it tells you about what new things your child is learning and it does also talk about discipline. I find it really helpful, and right on target when it talks about where children should be developmentally and at what age. Anyways I hope that helps!

Answer 4

The word discipline is really similar to the word teaching - it's sad that it now has the connotations of punishment or telling children what they shouldn't be doing. Discipline, in its best sense,, is something you do gradually - helping your child understand what is safe, and what is a bad idea. You don't need to yell, or spank, or try to insist he does what you want all the time, if you spend time with him, and always explain to him if it would be a bad idea to do something.

of course you need to protect him - eg keeping a gate across the kitchen door, or the top of the stairs, so he doesn't hurt himself. But that's your responsibility, not his. If you forget to close the gate, and find him in the kitchen pulling saucepans on the floor, that's not being naughty - it's just natural curiosity.

Non-coercive parenting is much the best approach. Work together with your children to find the best solutions to problems, offer them creative alternatives to things they might want to do that could be dangerous, and keep precious ornaments, and poisons of any kind, totally out of reach. Always take their questions seriously, and answer them to the best of your ability. Even if they don't understand, children will appreciate that you're trying to help, and are more likely to ask about problems again in the future.

Answer 5

From day 1!

You can start teaching them the right things to do, just do not expect it to stick for a while. Consistency is the key.

At 7 months he does begin to understand. If he hits you say ouch and no no. He will do it again and again but eventually he will understand.

Just wait until he is 1! Well behaved still try to assert themselves and you will discipline for their safety there. Like not crawling up the steps alone. They will get the "No" voice and taking them away.

You just have to adjust your style as they get older and you see what works.

Answer 6

Before age 1.5 (or so), you should just redirect him when he gets into something. You can say, "Oops! Not for babies!" or "Uh oh! We don't hit the kitty. That hurts the kitty." or something along those lines, but then you direct him to play with something else or take the object out of his reach.

Around age 1.5, give or take, you'll probably start seeing a difference in his attitude and instead of just being curious and not knowing better, he'll keep doing things to test you or he might hit a friend over a toy. That's when you step it up a little with a stern "no" and maybe a time-out or however you choose to handle those situations.

Answer 7

I read a parenting book and they said that kids don't really start understanding until they're 18 months. I however think its a lot sooner, around 15 months at least.

Answer 8

No is a word they need to learn the meaning of. I never really needed to do much in the way of disipline though. I could tell my children no, and they would know they shouldn't.
They have since grown out of listening to me---it only lasts out 12 years if you've lucky, then they become teenagers and they know everything!!!!! lol.

Enjoy them as baby's they grow up way to fast!!!!!!

Answer 9

I started explaining to my son around seven months that he could not have certain things and why, then immeditley give him something that he can have example " No thats hot but you can play with this ball." Around 13 months I would pat his hand and sternly say no so that they understand that you mean it

Answer 10

Depends what you mean by 'discipline'.

As soon as they start moving around you will find you will need to start telling him not to touch stuf,f so it will graduate from there, as you will be pulling your hair out once you have told him not to touch something 5+ times! I wish you luck!