joelle,
wau.. tough love! u just let seth face the wall and cry and scream ah.. u very good! i hope if i ever need to do that, i won't xin-ruan..
bbmouse,
for me, if on the spot EJ really scream and yell if i take something away, I may relent because as you said, I don't want to always have to discipline through shouting/hitting. I will still scold but if he scream too much, i will give in first. Then after I give in, I will hold him by the shoulders, look him in the eyes and seriously talk to him. Tell him that such an action is wrong. That u don't ask for things by screaming and yelling.
My mom always think I am weird to do that cos she says he won't understand. But i feel otherwise. I feel that EJ does understand what I mean. Even if he doesn't understand the words, he knows that what he had just did is wrong. Of course over time, must keep repeating, then they will get the message.
Then even at normal times and normal days.. I always talk to EJ to reinforce ideas.. as in, sometimes just out of the blue, i will talk to him.. tell him that he must be a good boy and that good boys do blah blah blah... good boys will receive a lot of love and attention.. if he is not a good boy, then nobody will want to play with him or love him etc.. so on a normal basis, i talk to him like that.. don't have to wait until he does something naughty then tell.
Sorry for being so lor-soh.. just sharing my thoughts.