or just doesn't care about them?
I know that EVERYONE will say their kid doesn't listen at this age, but my DS is taking it to the extreme....I ask him once, he completely ignores me, doesnt even look my way. I ask him again, same thing. I count down from 3 to 1, he finally looks at me but doesn't make a move until after I say 1. This is everything from quit standing on the couch, to get your shoes, to sit at the table, I mean everything. I cant even tell you how many times I count per day...
Nothing upsets him except for getting sent to his room. I even cancelled pool time today because he ignored me when I told him not to go upstairs while I was pumping...he ran up there, climbed into the babys crib, and woke her up before I could stop him. After I changed him out of his swim clothes, I sent him up to his room where he cried until I let him out, but once he was out, he was fine...asked to go swimming a few times, I told him no (and why) and he didn't even seem upset.
Tonight he wont stay in his bed. I told him if he didn't, we wouldn't play his favorite game in the morning. I said, are you going to stay in bed? He said no. He just doesn't care. It has to be something instant, if its in the future forget it.
Taking toys away doesnt work, he doesnt even like his toys that much, lol. Nothing motivates this kid.
It was just a worse day than usual. I neeeeed a drink.
Re: Anyones older toddler not understand consequences?
I don't think so...she's 8 months old and while the listening has always been bad, its only gotten worse in the last 2-4 weeks. IDK what it is...he's about to turn 3, I guess he's just testing us more. I may not survive...
Yeah mine don't seem to care...they get it, they don't care. DS absolutely HATES cleaning up. Like if you mention it before he has even made a mess he will have a tantrum at the prospect of it. He chose to lose his trains (fave toy by far) for a whole day instead of cleaning up some blocks the other day & regularly gets various things taken away...he'll cry sometimes for a little bit, be over it & do the behavior again, it never seems to have any effect. We try natural consequences too but the things he freaks about tend to not always have natural consequences.
It is beyond frustrating
This is going to sound really silly, but when you give him instructions, do you get down to his level and talk to him, or do you just tell him while he's in the midst of doing something not to do what he's doing while you're elsewhere?
I noticed my child's listening skills improve greatly if I get on one knee and down to his level, direct him to look at my eyes, and told him an instruction in just few simple words. If I don't do that, he mostly ignores me as well.
Sometimes silly things like that will change their response.
I don't think a future consequence would work for any kid in this age group. I think consequences related to immediate things work better. No shoes on--can't go outside to play or go out somewhere fun. No sitting at the table--no dinner.
In terms of bedtime, I think a structured routine, warnings before transitions, and a picture chart of the activities generally helps the 2ish age range. If your routine is say bath/brush teeth/story/sleep, you could make a picture chart of all the steps. Warn him before the transition--like "1 minute until bath is all done, then we'll check our chart to see what's next".