The Naughty Step

Will on the naughty step--clearly phased by this act of discipline.

When Will was nearing the age of two, it was becoming quite apparent that it was time to start disciplining. Josh and I, parenting novices that we are, weren't quite sure how to approach it. Then, one night as we were watching the Super Nanny show on TV (which is rare), we saw her discipline a two-year-old with the "naughty step". Liking the concept but not neccessarily the name, Josh and I decided to put it into action. Josh wanted to call it the "penalty box" whereas I wanted to refer to it just as "the step". However, the first day we implemented the step, both Josh and I called it "the naughty step". And there was no turning back, for that is what Will insisted on calling it. And though the naughty step has mostly helped in curing some unwanted habits (I say mostly--there are still a few we need to work on), it has also brought on some humorous moments, such as these:

• The other day I found Will with his cat on the naughty step, discipling the "tat" with a pointed finger and the following lecture: "No frow cars, tat, only frow balls. Sit naughty step two minutes." This lecture was then followed with Will making the "beep, beep" noise (indicating the timer had gone off) and then Will telling the tat: "Okay. All done naughty step."
• Will helps load the dishwasher after meals (mostly the silverware and plastic ware). He has to open the dishwasher, pull out the bottom drawer and then load his few pieces. We were having a terrible time of him opening the dishwasher and bouncing, bouncing, bouncing it. After a few trips to the naughty step, he has, mostly, stopped this bouncing. He'll open the dishwasher and remind us, "No bou-ing." The other day, as I was opening the dishwasher to load it, the dishwasher just bounced all on its own. Will saw this and then told me, "No bou-ing dishwasher, Mama. Go sit on naughty step. Two minutes." Of course, I complied.
• Will is obsessed with gum--eating it, not chewing it. He found a piece in my purse the other day and I didn't want him to have it. I told him if he ate that piece of gum, he would have to sit on the naughty step. He looked at me, looked at the gum, looked at the step, then opened up the gum, popped it into his mouth and quickly ran to sit on the naughty step. I'm pretty certain he felt that piece of gum was worth the two minutes on the step. I'm also pretty certain that the naughty step now holds no fear for him. I guess we'll have to watch Super Nanny for some new ideas. Let us know if you have any good disciplining tips.