I need help with my two 1/2 year old boy. He's a tease and likes to get into everything imaginable. What do I do? I tell him no and he keeps going, he looks at you knowing he shouldn't do it and laughs and does it anyway. He teases me so I tell him no again and again. I've tried spanking, yelling, counting to three, putting him in corners, time out, totally ignoring him, reasoning, bribing, I've tried everything you can think of. How do I get him to listen to me. And when I do try and take things away from he or remove him from where he shouldn't be playing (like my kitchen countertops for instance) he throws a fit, then he gets in trouble for throwing a fit. What do I do? Or is this just unreasonable to think a two year old she be expected to listen. I also have 1 1/2 yr old who is starting to throw fits as well but she actually stops when you fuss at her.

Consistancy is the number one key.
That being said, a time out where the child is facing a corner (in a chair). Every time he screams kicks yells gets up you just CALMLY without saying a word seat him properly in the chair. Do this until he sits still for 2mins. It doesn't seem long but most experts say one min per year of age... ie 2years = 2mins.
Yelling justifies their behavior, even at 2 he's figured that out even if he doesn't know what its called. And don't look him in the eye, I know it sounds like something from a scifi movie... but it works!
Put the baby in another room (playroom, high chair with a snack, somewhere that she will be OK for a cple minutes, or even her bed) when you are doing this so that she doesn't see his behavior.

*I got this info from a Super Nanny episode a couple of years ago, if I missed something don't be a jerk about it but feel free to discuss it with me. :) *

You're the parent. Put him in time out. If you take something away and he thows a fit, let him. Two year olds don't have the capacity to reason, so don't bother with that, and bribery isn't going to be effective either, that just teaches him manipulation. Stick to the time outs and let him know YOU are in charge, not him. It's not unreasonable for a two year old to be well behaved (within reason), but he has to know you are the boss, not him.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by desablessed

I need help with my two 1/2 year old boy. He's a tease and likes to get into everything imaginable. What do I do? I tell him no and he keeps going, he looks at you knowing he shouldn't do it and laughs and does it anyway. He teases me so I tell him no again and again. I've tried spanking, yelling, counting to three, putting him in corners, time out, totally ignoring him, reasoning, bribing, I've tried everything you can think of. How do I get him to listen to me. And when I do try and take things away from he or remove him from where he shouldn't be playing (like my kitchen countertops for instance) he throws a fit, then he gets in trouble for throwing a fit. what do I do? or is this just unreasonable to think a two year old she be expected to listen. I also have 1 1/2 yr old who is starting to throw fits as well but she actually stops when you fuss at her.

---

I know just what your son needs. A good role model. Find an activity your son likes to do and go from there. All that energy is going toward disruptive behavior. Finding an age-appropriate activity, with supervision, of course, is good for you and him. By observing you learn. i.e; if skipping rocks is his thing, encourage it. I bet by the end of the day he'll be too exhausted to be mischivous. Your 1 1/12 year old is still innocent. I know this might sound a bit corny but why not read up on manners, the whole politeness idea, teaching it to her. It's very appealing to the elite and upper-class nowadays.