Consequences

I have to look back at my old blogs to confirm this, but I feel like
the books say kids should understand how discipline works by 18 to 24
months, in that if they do something bad, and their parents punish
them for it, they are able to connect the behavior and the punishment,
and in doing so are discouraged from doing the behavior again.

Aaron just turned 2, but still doesn't appear to have gotten this
memo. We have been largely consistent and immediate in punishing him
for various bad things he does, and yet he continues to do them.
Worse, after we punish him, sometimes he'll look at us with this dark
and brooding look that unnerves both Amy and me.

We're trying to decide if it's just going to take Aaron longer to make
the connection between his bad behavior and our swift discipline, or
if he's just so stubborn that he's going to keep on doing what he
wants to do and to heck with the consequences. Whatever it is, we've
gotten some useful counsel from the special instructor Amy signed him
up for on how to discipline and what to communicate before, during,
and after the discipline; but we still haven't gotten any assuring
counsel on when and how such discipline will get through to him. In
the meantime, we're hanging in there with our little guy, and praying
for his best.