Great ideas, I'm always searching for tips in this area.

Showing a child what to do rather than what not to do over and over again is much better.  Other wise they will be sitting in the middle of Gram's house miserable or in trouble.  Destraction not only keeps them out of trouble.  I think that it also teach baby what to do.  Great advice.

This is great advice i do this quite alot when we are around peoples houses . I used to take bricks to my friend annes house. But she much prefers to play with the lucky stones in her pot pouri she is doing no harm she is learning her colours and she isnt trying to attack all the alnumants .

Thanks for sharing xxx

It definitely is far more positive for parents to encourage their babies/toddlers/children to behave in a way that is appropriate in all ages; instead of just telling them what they can't do all the time.  We try really hard not to say no, or don't.

It is easy to say, look, this is for you to play with, that belongs to so and so, and direct their attention elsewhere.  Overall, creating this premiss actually avoids a lot of negative feelings and when all else fails, the times that you do need to use discipline, such as time out etc, or resort to saying no, or don't have much more meaning.

I prefer using distraction and it can work well. Even with myself! (ie. take a break clear the head)

Great advice... This would be hard for some parents and no one is perfect, but as a mum of 3 and a carer for many children distraction and time out has worked in my house....

xx cazza

thanks for sharing

kenny

good advise but not for everyone. mind u i know ppl who dont give a crap and let their kids do what ever the hell they want.

personally i say no and re direct then if they go back i say no with a smack on the hand and a 3rd time it is time out.

hi

this is good advice for us all to remember, we are doing this with gecko-buba at the moment and finding it works with him well at times.  well done

 gecko-baby

Great advice!

I happen to be doing this right now with my toddler and find it very effective!

this is a great article

xoxox

Hi there,

WELL DONE on a GREAT article . .  I have used distraction techniques several times with my children and have found that they work quite well depending on the problem. I would prefer a quiet and peaceful approach to teaching my children where ever I can ..  Thanks for a very informative and thorough article

Cheers Kellz

first and foremost, well done on writing a good solid article. i can see how this would work for some parents and as you have said it is good with babies. however, both our babies (when they were babies) saw straight through this. didn't even work when they were only months old. the no along with shaking the head worked wonders with them because they (i believe) responded to body language more so than the actual word. i find myself shaking my head at Rhiannon, (now 19 months old) sometimes without even saying anything, to get the point across that she is not allowed continue with her behavior and it has worked on many an occasion. also applying consequence for their actions as young as three months old. we did it with both our kids and it might not be a fantastic thing to do by the so called book but we now have a five year old that we hardly have to tell off because he was taught using consequence from a very young age. cheers for writing such a great article though, it was an informative read with yet another "has worked" method of bringing up kidlets. ::)'s from becca!

I find this technique useful for younger children. By the time my son reached 2 years old, this technique lost it's power, and now that's he's 3, it's not even remotely useful. He is just the kind of kid that is very intense and persistent, especially if it's something new. It made for a difficult time when we visit a friend's house (a friend who happens to not have kids - so their house is full of breakable knick-knacks).

Also, from the time my son was 2 years old, saying distraction must always accompany a long drawn out explanation, otherwise, he doesn't listen. For example, we went to my husband's uncle's house when my son was a little over 2, I had to tell him "no" repeatedly not to touch the glass eggs. I told him that it wasn't our house that he wasn't allowed to touched anything he wanted to. Well, of course he just kept on doing it. I had to resort to explaining that it was glass and that it was valuable. Should it break, it would make daddy's aunt very very sad. And that if it breaks, it will break into many little sharp pieces that can then hurt him. At this point, I see a light bulb light up on top of his head. I go on to say that if it cuts him and he bleeds, we will more than likely have to go to the doctor and that will scare and worry mommy and daddy to no end - and we'll just have to head home afterwards.    --- Then and only then did he really start to listen to me, but still... it took him great self-restraint. LOL

May work for some, but for me I just can't do it. I have always used and taught my children the word NO, and from the start if I say no it means no. I seldom had to move anything out of reach of little hands, or even to smack their hands. I just had to say no. And it worked. My nephew (15 months) knows that if aunty Leis says no, you don't do it. His mum tries distraction etc and is constantly putting other things in front of him etc. Even works with temper tantrums. Now even with the boys as teenagers, if they ask for something and I say no, there is rarely an argument.  But that is just me and this obviously works for others.