My 4 yr old...Need your help if you have children!

So when my daughter gets in trouble, I put her in the corner. Let me give you an example to better understand.

Today she got in trouble for being mean to her cousin whom is 5. I put her in the corner and after about 1 minute I asked her why she got in trouble. If she would tell me the truth and tell me why she got in trouble, then she could get up.

She just kept saying “okay, here I go.” -

She was crying, but never did tell me why. I told her that she got in trouble for being mean to her cousin and that she was to get back in the corner until she could tell me why she got in trouble.

After about the 5th time of putting her back in the corner and telling her the same thing over and over, she finally told me that she got in trouble for being mean to her cousin.

Is she too little to actually tell me why she got in trouble, or maybe afraid she’ll get in trouble again? Forgetful? I don’t know. She lies a little, but nothing major. Any advice on punishments and what to do here? I only give her “spankings” if she does something dangerous, and this doesn’t qualify under my guidelines.

Answer #1

im glad I don’t get time outs… it would not be fun!

Answer #2

I would put her in the corner, and tell her why you’re putting her there “You’re getting a time out because you were being mean to your cousin. We need to be NICE to cousin.” Let her stay there for 4 minutes since she’s four years old, keep putting her back if she doesn’t stay and reset the time back to 4 mins. Once she stays and time is up, go back tell her why you put her there again, then tell her she needs to say sorry to her cousin and give her a hug. Take her hand and walk her to her to make sure she does it. Tell her thank you for being nice and if she’s mean again she gets another time out…

I do this with my 2 year old and she seems to understand just fine. I just give her a warning when she starts getting out of hand, and when she passes her limit, she gets a time out, no questions asked.

Answer #3

You should be the one to tell her what she did wrong, at the time she isn’t thinking of what she does being wrong, 4 yr olds have little if any impulse control. Every time she gets in trouble, tell her what she did that she’s being punished for and how long she’s going to be there. When the punishment is over, remind her why she was there and have her apologize for whatever it was, that will also teach her to take responsibilty for her actions. when the punishment is over, don’t dwell on whatever it was that got her in trouble, her time was served and that should be the end of it. If you see her starting to do the same thing again, remind her of what happen the last time she did it. Remember though, she’ll make mistakes and forget, so you need to try to prevent as much as possible and I have a 5 yr old, so I do know how rediculous that statement sounds, but it’s true. GOOD LUCK!

Answer #4

It’s good that you don’t spank her regularly because then she’ll be afraid of you. That’s not good! Putting her in the corner is a good idea and maybe she’s just afraid to admit that she did something wrong.

Answer #5

Honestly, she sounds like she just said what you wanted her to say so she could get out of the corner. She may not have known exactly what she did, or that what she did was mean or hurtful… Try talking to her about why she shouldnt do something like that, it’s a good time for an empathy lesson…

Answer #6

She’s afraid to get into trouble and if she tells the trust she’s scared that mommy will get more mad. I’m not a mom but I baby sit.

When ever the kid gets in trouble, I take him/her to his room. When I come back I say tell me why you are sitting here. *And I say do you know why I am angry at you?

And If she can’t answer the question, I say I’m angry at you because you’re being mean to your cousin and that’s why you are sitting here. And then I leave her in her room and come back and ask her the same question and then normally she can answer me back and I hug her and tell her to go play.

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