How I Disciplined My Naughty Two-year-Old Niece

My niece, who is not three years old yet, messes my house all the time. It doesn't matter to her that the house has just been tidied up. She will quickly cause disarray throughout. When I ask her to behave, she does the opposite. Then she flashes a cute smile that creates a mesmerizing moment. As though she is gripping through hypnotism. I wonder if she uses her smile to fool us and escape the impending punishments.

I make every possible effort to discipline her whenever she deviates. As a child, she is entitled to play. Therefore, I intend not to deprive her of the enjoyment she deserves.

The story below highlights the protocol my niece follows for games.

We purchased a building blocks plastic kit for my niece, Kulsum. Seeing the toy set, she was elated as well as eager to build a crazy little world of her own. Joining the pieces, she would construct a house, a car, and weird designs beyond our comprehension. After all, Art is subjective. Isn't it?

The sheepish moments were the ones in which I falsely had to admire her intricate craftsmanship. But to her, Sky was the limit. She would construct whatever she wanted.

Her game was our tribulation. The repulsive sight of the scattered fragments of blocks along with the onerous task of collecting them piece by piece exacerbated rage and irritation.
Moreover, the sharp edges caused us to scream if we stepped on a block accidentally.

I knew I had to figure out a way to teach discipline and bring order. If she were mature, I would communicate with her and have the situation under control. But How effective would communication be with a kid who can't even count two plus two. Nevertheless, I gave it a shot.

For her next session, giving a wilful smirk, she scattered the blocks and started to play. After finishing, as she began to run away, I asked her very nicely to pick up her toys and load them into the bag. Staring at me momentarily, she obeyed. Obviously, I was bewildered as well as amazed.

That's it. Was it that simple? Plead with a kid, and she grants requests without showing naivety and childishness?

I decided not to dig deeper and settle at the fact that pleading helps.

Reality struck back when Kulsum defied again. I immediately understood that the previous time was an example of those special moments when GOD bestows extra mercy on you. So, the naughty girl had returned.

I was too hopeful to give up. It had worked once, So there had to be another way. I knew it would involve asking nicely. I, therefore, decided to improvise.

At the end of her next play, I asked her to pick up the blocks and put them in the basket. She frowned and said no. Relentlessly, I held her hands and started lifting the pieces. Meanwhile, I requested her to be as helpful as she had been before. She resisted in the beginning, but when I didn't leave her hands, she cooperated.

Her cooperation relieved me a little. I
succeeded twice in a row. However, the second time involved giving a little push aside from beseeching.

I fathomed I could work with that in the future as a pattern was forming.

Subsequently, when she refused to clear the mess, I helped her change her mind by being playful. As if we were in a race or competition, she and I were running and lifting the pieces.
I must admit it was fun! Also, I observed that she had grown fonder of me.

So, Disciplining my niece required me to be polite, persuasive, encouraging, and occasionally sporting. I had hoped this combination to work as a measure forever when failure surfaced again.

Kulsum would mess up the place and run away without showing any sign of obedience. Being patient, I kept reiterating the right protocol to follow. But the situation demanded stringent action. In other words, the fix lied in resorting to threat.

During the next disorder, I firmly warned Kulsum that I would throw her toy away. To give the situation a pinch of reality, I dropped a piece out of the window. My action convinced her that my warning was not an idle threat. Seeing her toy disappearing into nowhere, Kulsum hurriedly started collecting all the scattered pieces. She even tidied the room out of fear of losing the rest of the set.

Since then, she has kept the toy set within her reach. Whenever she wants to play, she removes the kit and places it back after finishing.

Enforcing discipline in Kulsum is the highlight of this article, but I have a few helpful pointers that I would like to share from my incredible experience.

• The use of right language and tone works in any situation.

• Even a two-year-old can process and implement instructions that have been communicated in an appropriate manner.

• Being a friend helps enormously. Play with children and do childlike stuff to strengthen your bond and correct their actions and behaviors.

• To a considerable degree, even children understand profit and loss.

This is how I disciplined my two-year-old niece.