my son will be three years old this comming monday, dec 26. i have noticed that when i put him down for a nap or atleast quiet time he pushes me away and tells me to move, or puts his hands over my mouth or pushes my face with his elbows. i try to tell him that its not nice and he needs to stop. but he dont listen. is this a normal behavior for a 3 year old? im having trouble with dsisplineing him too. i dont like spanking him but my parents whom i live with are constantly telling me that if i dont spank himhe will think hell be getting away with everything. i was spanked as a child. the most i do with brett is time out or spanking his hands but not hard. nothing seems to be working is there something i am doing wrong? im just confused it seems like since hes getting older i have to adjust his punnishments but im not sure how to go about it. with time out i give him 3 mins if he keeps yelling and kicking i add another minute to every minute spent yelling or kicking. but ti seems not to be working. any suggestions?
my daughter does the same. i thought she didnt like me! but kids that age want to do stuff by themselves. i just leave my daughter alone when she pushes me away and eventually she gets over it. if you dont spank(neither do I) talk in a firm voice and dont laugh...i have that problem. good luck
i do too have that problem or when my son tries to make me laugh when he knows he is in trouble.
Kids that age are discovering their independence so what you are experiening is normal. The key is establishing who is the parent and who is the child. You don't have to necessarily spank but set boundaries so your child knows the he can be independent, but he cannot physically hurt you.
Your child loves you, but he loves himself more right now because he is discovering that he has control over things that happens around him. It's fun to finally have control over stuff. In time, with guidance, he will forget about wanting to be in control and move on to more interesting stuff.
Read books on parenting and discipline. One book that comes to mind is Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood. It teaches parents how to discipline without spanking, but get good results at the same time. The parent and the child is happier.