Yes, you did read that title correctly!
A recent incident with my two toddlers reminded me that parenting toddlers is a lot like being a good dog owner.
Principals of parenting and dog ownership that I ascribe to:
* Be consistent
* Don’t allow begging
* Don’t overfeed treats
* Clean up after them
* Socialize
* Do not allow them to be in charge
* Make them sleep in their own bed
* Teach them to put their toys away
* Do not allow biting or jumping on people
* Groom frequently
And last but not least, no tormenting the cat!
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Hahaha! Nice! Also, don’t forget that tone of voice matters sometimes even more than the actual words. And it’s all about providing limits and boundaries (literal and figurative).
Some people bristle at the comparison, but there have been more than enough similarities between getting a puppy and having a baby. Not saying they’re the same thing, but there’s lessons to be learned from both, for sure.
Hehehe. Love it. Sometimes my kiddos do seem like a pile of puppies.
I clicked on the post title from another site because I was hoping for some tips!
It’s funny how true the comparison is. I think I need to work on my commanding tone of voice with my crew.
You forgot not allowing them to jump on or climb the furniture!
love it!!
Does this mean I can use a choke-chain on them?
Seriously, I agree with every one of those – except I make mine clean up after themselves.
Hilarious! And so true!!
(glad you did not include “spay and neuter” to the list)
Well, M always said we should just crate-train the kids. It worked so well with the puppy…
Here’s the thing. THIS IS NOT FUNNY. It’s true! I use dog training tactics on my kids all of the time. Positive reinforcement? Catching them doing it right? All dog training tricks.
Great post!
This is SO SO SO TRUE! I also learned alot about parenting in general from working with mentally ill adults for most of my professional career!!!! (i.e. ignore the negative behavior and praise the positive, don’t let them split staff – or in this case play mommy and daddy against one another, redirection is a beautiful tool…when the girls are whining about something or into something they shouldn’t be into or fighting with one another nothing works better than “hey! let’s go play outside!” or “hey! let’s color!” They completely forget about what they were pissed off about in the first place. Works like a charm every time – with toddlers AND mentally ill adults. It’s a crying shame that I just wrote that sentence LOL!