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I was once that smug mother, you know the type, the one who has the "perfect" child, who sleeps through the night, hits all her milestones and left me thinking I had it all under control. I may have confessed this before but apparently this had nothing to do with my parenting and more to do with her placid and compliant nature. My youngest daughter came into our lives to remind me that I am a normal mum (who apparently likes sleep much more than she does) but I need to deal with her behaviour in a way that is not normal for my control freak like nature.

My youngest daughter is what some would call "spirited" and last week I used the naughty step for the first time. Unfortunately it wasn't just one time. She even seemed proud to tell Daddy when he got home from work. She understood that she was sitting there because she had been naughty but I am not sure it is an effective technique for her. She is a character and I don't want to crush her spirit but she also needs to know that a temper tantrum is not the way to solve her frustration.

I asked some fellow mums what they did to discipline and encourage their toddlers and they came back with some really interesting suggestions.

Walk & Talk

Becky from Baby Budgeting said "It is really really hard for spirited children to sit still and process things as they often will just feel resentment at being 'contained' I think a walk and talk works better with their energy...guidance and support to achieve what you want them to do rather than isolation (as it can feel like punishment). Thinking helps calm an emotional/angry child too (medically proven!) so getting them to count/read/do simple maths allows the chemicals to stop racing. Consequences (if necessary )can always come later I think".

Time Out

Helen from Kiddycharts said "We called it "time out" as naughty was a word I would rather avoid using. Time in their room works, I usually let them calm down and then we have a cuddle and a chat. The reason for going usually means someone has been a little bit aggressive, shall we say, and needs time away from the situation to calm down"

Counting

Penny from Alexander Residence suggested counting. "For some reason counting worked, I have no idea what he thought would happen when I got to 5 but it seemed to have the desired effect"

Naughty Box

I was a little worried that Kelly from Domestic Goddesque was going to suggest putting the toddler in the box but actually love her suggestion. She said "I developed the Naughty Box into which my daughter's favourite toy of the day must be put if she trangresses massively".

I love some of these ideas and will be trying them over the next few weeks in the hope that we can avoid Christmas Temper Tantrums.

This won't be the first blog post on those Toddler Tantrums and I have more fabulous suggestions to share and try. But for now, it seems that I am the one wearing out the naughty step. I was sitting on the stairs the other day and the little one looked at me and said "you been naughty mommy?"

She is just too darn cute for me to be cross for long!

Image courtesy of imagerymajestic at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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In the UK, he is Father Christmas, the US seem to prefer Santa, while in Poland he is Swiety Mikolaj but wherever you are in the world, children always want to send him their Christmas lists! My eldest daughter considers her list very carefully and this is the list from last year ....

Some of it is barely legible and some of it is cheeky and I have a friend who has spent the last 12 months trying to find a gold reindeer for her! (you watch, it won't be on this years list!) 

I love the innocence of the Christmas list and how when my daughter was talking about some toys she had seen advertised, I happened to comment that they were very expensive. She simply turned and looked at me with a little confusion and said "but mummy, Father Christmas will just get the elves to make it" ....... I forgot that part clearly!

Writing a list is part of the magic of Christmas for our children and having bought stationary in the past, I was delighted to find these FREE Letter to Santa downloads from Vertbaudet. There are three different options but I particularly like the Pile of Presents download that the girls can colour in too!

I am a huge fan of Vertbaudet, with parcels arriving regularly (shhhh, just don't tell the man on the pad) and not having to spend money on Christmas stationary this year means there is more money to spend on clothes and gifts!

That works for me!

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I wrote a post a few days ago about things my mum used to say when I was growing up but she has a particular saying that she uses more often than most. "It is a moment in time". I have said it before and I will say it again but this saying drives me a little bit bonkers.

When my eldest daughter refused to give up breast feeding, I was told "it is a moment in time"

When my youngest daughter wouldn't sleep through the night, I was told "it is a moment in time"

And then I heard her say it to my sister in law yesterday about my new baby nephew being a little fractious, "it's just a moment in time"

Unfortunately that moment is usually all consuming and feels never ending.

But what about the good moments?

The memory moments?

Those picture perfect moments that you want to capture forever but usually don't have a camera to hand at that precise moment. Those are the moments I want to freeze frame.

My daughters now know that if they are doing something the slightest bit cute, I will suddenly be armed with my camera or smart phone ready and waiting to capture them, which usually leaves them running in the opposite direction. I think I must do this quite often these days as even my two year old gets my phone and says "take your picture mommy" .... ooops!

There is method in my crazy determination to capture the perfect moment as it is coming up to Christmas and I always create a photo calendar for my Nan as a Christmas Gift. She loves to have big images of her grandchildren and great grandchildren that she can enjoy for the whole year, so "thats" why I always need to create the picture perfect moment, for our memories and for the family.

I just hope that as my mums legacy is "it is a moment in time", my own children don't say mine is "smile at the camera"!

This post is brought to you in association with PhotoBox but having used them every year for the past 5 years, it is also a genuine and natural recommendation.

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I have this strange relationship with the Onesie, I think they are great, I think they can be practical, I think that they are warm but I also think they would look silly with heels, so they are not really for me.

That said, they seem to be in all the shops at Christmas time and I love to buy them for all my friends and relatives. Shopping is a big thing for me (this is clearly not a secret), and it is always about the "right" outfit or in this case the right "onesie" but finding a good selection is always part of the challenge, so when I was introduced to Mary Jane Fashion, I knew I could find something the perfect Christmas oneside for my friends (plus dresses, shoes and accesories for me).

The kids love them and a new onesie is definately on my eldest daughters Christmas wish list (and she wears hers all year through) but is it on yours? Or will you be coveting a Bridget Jones style Reindeer Christmas jumper this year instead?