I try to ignore the bad behaviour and I explain what she has done wrong - we reward good behaviour and feed the ducks after daddy finishes work if she has been a good girl all day
I love this thread, I literally never try to say no as it automatically puts up a challenge to them....instead I say how about doing it this way which gives them a choice to say no but which 99% of the time does work.
On the other 1% of times when they are not in the mood for games or anything at all I give them a cuddle and ask what is wrong (usually tired) we then talk about how because we are tired we have to try extra hard to be kind and helpful.
I always think of them as the same as adults and that they can have off days or be tired or unhappy and that is ok, just as it is ok for us to have off days and I try to be a little bit more lenient where I can when they are not on tip top form :-) xx
To encourage good sharing, I get 1 child to divvy up fruit/ sweets etc. However, the other child gets first pick. It's amazing how exactly equal this encourages the 2 halves to be.
I use an alternative to no if possible tied to something I want them to do e.g. 'I can't allow that because you've not done x' or 'I'd love to but it's not possible because...' etc. then if applicable find a way to say yes to something similar or that but at another time e.g. 'we can't do painting right now because we're going to a wedding in a hour but what about just before bath time tomorrow?' Usually they just want to win the debate and come away with something even if it's smaller, different or delayed
Hi everyone, thank you again for all your posts. It makes for great reading and we picked up quite a few tips too!
We're just reopening the thread to post the name of the winner (sorry it's a little later than planned), and it is Siobhan J. Congratulations! We're going to drop you an email and private message about claiming your prize bundle.
Please do keep an eye out for more sponsored discussions coming soon.
Replies
I try to ignore the bad behaviour and I explain what she has done wrong - we reward good behaviour and feed the ducks after daddy finishes work if she has been a good girl all day
I love this thread, I literally never try to say no as it automatically puts up a challenge to them....instead I say how about doing it this way which gives them a choice to say no but which 99% of the time does work.
On the other 1% of times when they are not in the mood for games or anything at all I give them a cuddle and ask what is wrong (usually tired) we then talk about how because we are tired we have to try extra hard to be kind and helpful.
I always think of them as the same as adults and that they can have off days or be tired or unhappy and that is ok, just as it is ok for us to have off days and I try to be a little bit more lenient where I can when they are not on tip top form :-) xx
To encourage good sharing, I get 1 child to divvy up fruit/ sweets etc. However, the other child gets first pick. It's amazing how exactly equal this encourages the 2 halves to be.
I use an alternative to no if possible tied to something I want them to do
e.g. 'I can't allow that because you've not done x' or 'I'd love to but it's not possible because...' etc. then if applicable find a way to say yes to something similar or that but at another time e.g. 'we can't do painting right now because we're going to a wedding in a hour but what about just before bath time tomorrow?' Usually they just want to win the debate and come away with something even if it's smaller, different or delayed 
Thanks everyone for taking part in this sponsored thread.
We're going to close and lock the thread now so peeps know it is no longer open for entries.
We'll be back on Tuesday 11 July to announce the winner of the LEGO bundle.
I get down to their level and give them a warning if they break the house rules. If they continue they go in the cool down area.
Hi everyone, thank you again for all your posts. It makes for great reading and we picked up quite a few tips too!
We're just reopening the thread to post the name of the winner (sorry it's a little later than planned), and it is Siobhan J. Congratulations! We're going to drop you an email and private message about claiming your prize bundle.
Please do keep an eye out for more sponsored discussions coming soon.