Parent Puzzler: Toddler Discipline

I’ve got another parent puzzler for you today. Discipline questions are some of the toughest, I think.  Parents of my patients are always asking what they should do to “fix” their back-talking 6 year old, their tantrum-throwing 3 year old or their moody teenager.

My patient “Maya” was going through a tough time with her 2-year old lately and I thought it would be a great parent puzzler…Without further ado:

Question:

Maya brought her 2 year old to me complaining that whenever she tried putting him in his “time out chair” he refused to stay. She tried spanking, bribing and yelling. His behavior was getting worse and worse and Maya was at her wits end.

What would you tell Maya to do?