Nicole is growing up every day. As time passes by, along with the new skills mastered has come a talent for getting into trouble. After the first birthday she gets more curious, fearless and mobile, while still clueless about the consequences of her actions. Sometimes when you enter the washing room, you'll find the whole roll of toilet paper unrolled and lying on the ground. Sometimes when you enter the study you find she is emptying the contents of drawers onto the floor. One time when she was trying to pull a drawer out, it fell of on the floor. Immediately, she burst into a big cry.
I understand babies don't know right from wrong, and their actions can't be considered naughty, because they learn about the world by experimenting, observing cause and effete. I'm not going to stop her explorations most of the time, but I'm worried about the safety issue indeed. Before, I could deposit her in a safe spot lo keep both home and her from harm; now, no such paradise exists. And for the first time the question of discipline has come to my mind.
There is no question that children need discipline. According to Magda Cerber, an infant expert, "Lack of discipline is not kindness; it is neglect. "In her eyes, loving our children does not mean keeping them happy all the time and avoiding power struggles. Often it is doing what feels hardest—saying "No" and meaning it.
For me, carrying out effective discipline is one of the toughest tasks of parenting, a seemingly never-ending test of wills between Nicole and me. But the good thing is that, although I continue to meet opposition from Nicole when I stop her potentially dangerous actions, I find gradually she accepts limits. Now she has got the idea that they're things she can't play with and can't do. Can't play with laptops. Can't touch eclectic wires. Not everything into mouth.
"Waiting to introduce discipline into a child's life much later than len months could make the task much more difficult. . . "(What to Expect the First Year, by Heidi Murk-off) I am so grateful to have this book on hand. It makes a first-time mother a qualified caregiver.
