You tried to send your child to their room as a punishment but they didnt want to go. This is a good indicator that it is a good punishment simply because it is something they dont want to do.

As for the crying and appearing upset, is this a show in an attempt for a lesser more sympathetic punishment?

Oh no! I hope you got the pen off your monitor!

So, was he crying cuz he was upset that he'd done something naughty, or crying because he was upset that you'd caught him?

For my daughter, who is 3, I try my best to use punishments that make sense. She marks on the wall with crayons, the first time, one gets thrown out, the next time, they are all gone. (And yes, I have thrown them all out, not just pretend throwing them away).

If she is crying because she's upset at getting in trouble, I put her into time out (on the stairs or up into her room) until she stops crying. If she's crying because shes upset that she did something wrong, we talk about it, but she still is punished with a time out.

I hope this helps!

Hi,

Sounds like you have your hands full, i have a 3 year old and when he is naughty he has a time out corner and he has to sit there until we tell him he can move!! When we first started to inforce it he used to test us and run off but being persistant helps a lot. You could also try the old take the toys method if the naughty croner didn't work. Hope ive helped... and the next time your son does something that you will know what to do. Brenna