Some of the discipline issues involved here can be alleviated with TRAINING.
It's a lot like training a puppy or a horse, if that's not too offensive to think about. Along those same lines, you want to train your toddler to obey your command. So you keep it simple, just like you do with a puppy, and you start with one thing...and with that one thing, you are absolutely totally consistant, 100% of the time.
1-2 weeks later, when they have that one issue down, you move on to the next thing. It doesn't really matter what you pick--just pick whatever it is that is the biggest pain-in-the-rear for you to deal with, and do that.
Train with a gentle voice, and expect instant obedience (no second or third request, unless you want to train them to obey the second or third time). We usually use the word, "no-no," and train them not to touch the 'no-no.' (Whatever the no-no happens to be)...
When they obey, they get a big smile and hug from the parent--praise! Not overdoing the praise or making it fake--just a happy squeeze to let them know they did a great job. When they don't, it's a quick surface-sting swat on the offending part. No scolding, no fussing at them--just a quick moment of displeasure on their part, letting them know that it's best to stay within the boundaries. It's just enough to make it clear that touching the no-no will bring uncomfortable consequences.
They almost never cry, because it doesn't really hurt much--they just look a little surprised and interested: "Hmmm...when I touch this "no-no", this thing comes and bites me on the hand...interesting...Wonder if that'll happen the next time I touch it... Wow! Sure 'nuff, it did. Boy, maybe it's worth my while not to touch things called, "no-no's..."
Commands are always given in a gentle quiet voice--this ensures that that's the voice they will obey--otherwise, you train them to only obey you when you are yelling and looking stern and mean!
It's almost like a game--you get to have fun with it. It's a neat opportunity to train your child, and it can be a really sweet time for both of you. Any toddler old enough to respond to stimuli is old enough to be trained in this gentle manner. They long for boundaries and borders, they really do, and so they seem to really enjoy knowing what's expected of them, and take great pride in showing off their obedience.
Our children always enjoyed training time, which surprised us with the first one, but as more came along, we realized that they love knowing their boundaries--they appreciate it, and they appreciate the loving interaction, too.
This can really help parents who are frustrated about discipline. It's nice to differentiate between
discipline (that's what you get when you do something wrong, it's corrective), and
training (that's what you do with them before they ever disobey--it's PROACTIVE).
Instead of just expecting obedience and then punishing it when it doesn't happen, train them in the PROPER behaviour before they ever get a chance to do it wrong. It's much more fair to them, and it makes for a much more pleasant home for all.
For us, we've always trained them through their toddlerhood, so by the time they get to preschoolers, they're awesome!
Sure, they're still full of energy and curiousity and spunk, but they also know how to obey, and so it makes for a very loud active loving HAPPY home (one where parents are still tired at the end of the day, but they're not FRAZZLED from constantly dealing with disobedience)--which happens to be the kind of home I like to live in.
Blessings,
Molly