Encouraging Good Behavior For First Daughter

My first daughter is currently having a tantrum. She's almost two and she's living up to that age's reputation. Right now she wants chocolate, but while I don't have a problem giving her a bit when she's good and says please, she isn't behaving. She's crying and rolling on the ground and screaming and demanding the goods. I don't want to encourage poor behavior with a reward so I'm just ignoring her for now. When she calms down and asks nicely, I'll reward her.

I know what some of you may be thinking...just spank her. Well, if I were my father, yeah, I'd have dished out a beating. But I'm not my father. It's difficult not to spank a child when they're misbehaving. I mean, after all, I could really give her something to cry about. I don't want to do that. I want to reward good behavior and discourage bad by ignoring the bad behavior. If she doesn't receive attention when she's bad then she'll be more inclined to do good, right? I hope?

My wife likes to remind me that our two year-old is basically a caveman. The description is apt, and it's also hard not to sink down to their level when they throw tantrums. I have to remind myself to stick to ignoring such behavior and to be a mindful father by not spanking her when the urge shows itself. I'm better than that.

Well looky here! She's calmed down, crawled into my lap, looked up at me and asked politely. Of course my darling, you can have a chocolate. Enjoy! You earned it!

So my good readers, do you like these kind of posts? I'm not sure if this is more interesting than economic, cultural, or political posts. Let me know by leaving a comment, below.