Highlights of LiveChat With Dr Roopa Srinivasan – Child Development & Behaviour – Part 2

Q. My 2.5-years-old at times won’t listen and gets upset. What is the best way to make him understand what to do and what not to do? What are the best practices for discipline?

A. My article on effective disciplining is on BabyChakra website, maybe the team can share it with you.

Q & A with Dr Roopa Srinivasan: Must-try techniques to discipline your toddler – Part 1

Q. What can I do to develop fine motor skills of 3.3 years?

A. Fun activities like playing with clay, dough, paper cutting, pasting, hand painting/finger painting, coloring will help build fine motor skills.

Q. Is there an age when one should start potty training? What’s the red flag for recognizing bladder control and communicating the need to void?  

A. Potty training has a few prerequisites- child should be able to sense bladder or bowel getting full, be able to indicate, be able to pull down pants and sit on a seat. Children acquire bowel control first and then bladder control. They are dry during the day before they are dry at night. There continues to be progress on all of these sequentially. By 4, most children are toilet trained.

Also read, 5 tips for Potty Training

Q. My child is 2 years 4 months. How should I stop my child from hitting and biting when angry? 

A. As I said earlier, whether a behavior stays or goes away depends on how we react to it. A lot of concern, shock or even a look in the direction of your child when he is hitting himself will keep the behavior going. You may need to practice a poker face to truly ignore these behaviors.

Q. (Related to above question) I have tried time out with hands tied, shown him books like hands are not for hitting and teeth are not for biting.

A. When he is hitting someone outside- immediately pick him up and come back home. If it is inside the house, then timeout is a good idea. but when he returns do not approach the topic again. When he is very angry talking/showing him a book will not help. Do it when he is calm on another day/occasion.

Q. (Related to above question) I show him books when he is calm. He says it himself too and recognizes the fact it is wrong, but it is the ways he vents out. Even says, “please marne do”!

A. When you are angry, demonstrate how you vent by hitting a pillow. I would suggest modelling also how you use words to express anger. When you are upset- use phrases like “I am upset because I can’t find my bag” or if upset with him- “I feel angry that you threw this”. You are not using a negative word for the child but  merely articulating how you feel. This will help him learn alternate ways.

For many other interesting questions answered, Read: Part 1, Part 3

To consult Dr Roopa Srinivasan in person, click here.

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