Follow through.

Was out and about yesterday, and saw a mother telling her daughter, who couldn't be more then a year and a half, not to do something. The little girl was trying to climb up on a small ledge to look at something, and the mother kept telling her not to. The little girl looked up at her mom, and climbed up on the ledge. The mother came over, took her by the hand, pulled her down, and set her on the floor. The little girl looked up at mom with a challenging look, got up, and climbed right back up on the ledge.
What did the mom do?
Rolled her eyes, shrugged her shoulders, and let her daughter have her way.
Something is wrong with this picture.
First off, who's in charge here? Apparently the little girl, since she did what she wanted.
Second, the mom made a tactical error. She didn't enforce her rule.
This may seem small and petty, but this eventually becomes a big problem. Some say it doesn't matter because the child is so small.
At what age does discipline begin?
People have a wrong impression when it comes to disciplining a child. It has nothing to do with hitting them or hurting them. If I were to narrow it down to one thing, the very essence, disciplining your child is to make them do what you want them to. If you tell them not to climb up on a ledge, then there is no way they should EVER climb up on that ledge.
No reason.
More then that, it is the parent's job to follow through on their word. If The mom told her daughter not to do something, the child needs to KNOW, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the mom meant business. What exactly should the mom have done? I can't say. There are many ways to handle the above situation. However, what she should NOT have done was given up. She basically told this one and a half year old that mom really had no authority over her, that all she can giv e is a "suggestion" and that she didn't really have to listen.
Growing up, I would never even THINK of answering my mother or father back, or not doing something they told me to do.
Did they hit me?
No. Hitting eventually loses it's effect because the children, who are always getting hurt anyway, will realize they can take it.
They followed through, from a very early age, on their word. If they told me to do something, they made sure I did it. If not, then they made sure I didn't.
The follow through. A very important, and often over looked aspect of raising kids.