I got my two year old to stay in a thinking chair by taking her back to it every time she got out. I made it very boring for her - if she got out, I just took her by the hand and brought her back without saying a word to her (I learned this technique from a parenting  magazine article). Anyway, we had to do it over and over and over - I didn't count but I'm sure it was 10 or 15 times. But after that one "training session" she always just went to the chair when I sent her. It really works!

I wish I would have known that technique! When I tried to send my 2 1/2 yr old to the thinking chair he wouldn't stay and I went nuts! I shouted at him to get back there and I probably traumatized him for life. He had terror in his eyes! He did go back to the chair - crying pitifully - and I felt like the worst parent in the world.

I know how that feels! I yell at my kids for all kinds of things and then I feel so guilty I think I suffer from myself more than they suffer from me! And personally, I've never been successful at getting either of my kids to sit in a thinking chair. I can't make them do anything - they just run away from me. I don't think that technique would work in my house. Has anyone found a different way (like tying them up with string or something? just kidding).

You might try this one: buy or bake the best cupcakes in you can. Tell your kids you're serving them for dessert. Then some time before dinner, discipline your little guy by sending him to the thinking chair. If he doesn't go, stay calm and tell him that's all right with you. It tell your kid to go to the thinking chair. If he doesn't go, tell him that's fine, but he's going to lose his cupcake later. He probably won't care at the moment. Then when it's time for cupcakes, guess who doesn't get one? I did this with my 3 year old and it worked like a charm! He had a major meltdown when he didn't get his cupcake, but he never forgot it and when I sent him to the thinking chair after that, if he hesitated for even a minute, I'd say, "rember what happened with your cupcake?" and then he just runs to the chair. It's kind of crazy because it's not like I'm offering him a cupcake anymore - it's just that he made some sort of connection between don't go to the chair and something really bad happens! I learned this from Sarah Chana's book Raise Your Kids without Raising Your Voice and it works just like she describes it in the book.

We had a similar experience using that same technique with our toddler. He doesn't like cupcakes so we threatened to take away his big yellow digger which he LOVES. We didn't even have to take it away. Just the threat of it scared him into the chair! This technique is great because you don't have to get mad or anything. Once our son was able to go to the chair for his time-outs we were able to correct a lot of his misbehavior. For instance, he was starting to kick our nanny and so we sent him to the chair every time he did it. Within a couple of days he was cured of that behavior. Being able to discipline your child is absolutely necessary.

Are there any other methods of discipline for a toddler beside the thinking chair? We're already using that for saying bad words. I don't want to use it for everything but I don't know what else works.