Hey Parents!

So I've been wondering whether our discipline/reward system is going to cause any issues down the line or whether we should be trying to add in other methods too.

Since the age of two (4 now) our little toddler seems to respond well to losing/gaining 'privileges'. It seems to be a rare thing for them to push back and force things to get frayed emotionally. What I mean by that is that usually we can say "if you keep doing that, you will lose the privilege to choose what to watch later" (or play on the tablet for a bit or something like a treat)... And it works immediately. Rarely do we get to the point where you've taken away 3 things, maybe every 6 months but even that's rare.

Anyway, I had a conversation with another parent about it and they said they didn't like it because it would attach the thinking of "I should be good to get things" instead of "I should be good because it is right". It hit home but I'm not really sure what else you should do because our toddler helps out (as most probably do) just because they want to, not because they're asked or rewarded. So I'm wondering if I'm missing something obvious?

We also let our little one earn money, they keep it in a little piggy bank and they earn reward cards based on their favourite show. The more cards they get, the more money or chance we might buy them a present of their choosing, provided they save up etc. For example, a toy that costs like £40 might take a month or two to earn (sometimes quicker because we're softies)

We've been in shops a few times with lots of toys around and our toddler was asking us to buy something. We said no, you'd have to save up etc and there was no negative reaction surprisingly! (might just be TVs impression of what it's like having kids, I don't know!). I'm quite impressed by the patience level that practicing delayed gratification has on them.

Before writing this I had loads of questions to ask and things to say, but now I'm feeling blank. Anyhow, I'd love to hear your thoughts and advice or just witness an amazing discussion, so hopefully we all learn something useful to be mindful of.

Happy wintering :)