Ok girls- is there such a thing as obedience training for toddlers?

My ds has started thinking it funny to run away from me. I resist chasing him to lessen the "game/play" of chasing... but sometimes for his safety I've had to.

On the weekend we were out in the yard and I took my eyes off of him for a short while and he ended up on the street with cars stopped for him. *hangs head in shame* *praises God for his protection and grace* Not just once, but twice- man he can move fast! *hangs head in shame again* *lesson learned!!!!*

Ok- so how do I "train" him to obey "stop" and "come back"? Aside from getting the puppy leash out. :) It's not just for convenience sake, it's now a safety issue.

This is my current strategy: when I catch him, I firmly grab his arm or torso, get into his face and firmly (not yelling) say: you do not run away, when mommy asks you to --, you need to obey. If you disobey again consequence xx will occur. The consequence is another issue, sometimes it's been time out, sometimes a swat. (I have no idea if this is too much language for 19 mo or too severe of a consequence.)

This morning in the house I laid on the praise for him not running away when I took the phone away from him. It does seem rather flukey to me.

Have obedience training at home. Make it a game. Think...Simon Says.
'Let's play a game..Obedience' or 'first time every time' something like that..whatever.
Then just have him do silly things...'touch your nose' 'yea good job, you did just what mommy said' 'ok...run into the kitchen and touch the fridge' 'yea!' 'alright, now...can you stand on one foot?' 'awesome! you did everything mommy told you to do..that's very important, what a good job'

Little games like that will reinforce what you want. As he gets older you can resort back to it whenever he seems to have a problem with obedience. Do you have any idea how annoyed an 8 yr old gets when you have him touch his finger to his nose, purely for the obedience factor? LOL Whips mine in line pretty quickly.

But for now, do the game daily.
Follow through with your consequences each and every time. Mine would get a swat each time they did not immediately disobey. You'll have to decide if that's the route you want to go or not...but stick to whatever you decide. Pick one and stay.
He's not too young to learn this concept. Just be consistent.

When out, he holds your hand. Period. No exceptions. He will hold your hand until you are confident he has figured out 'obedience'. Sure there will still be times where he 'fails' but, until you are comfortable, he holds your hand. If he resists, he gets a spanking. And/or doesn't get to do such n such.

That what I would (and have) done anyway. HTH

My Willie is a runner, and I know the battle you face in trying to decide whether to chase for safety or not to make a game of it.

There have been times for me when I thanked God for protection as well, because Willie has been there... stopping traffic and so forth!!

We removed all opportunities for a long time... a month probably would do. locking the back yard gate, locking the doors, putting him from the car seat into the stroller, and so forth. Then after that month, go for walks, and jog a little ahead... and encourage him to catch up! So, he's getting focused on following YOU, not you chasing him ;)

Goes hand in hand with what Tara is suggesting... you could start the basic training, then when the time is right, work on the staying with you factor. Games like freeze - a toddler can play, and it teaches them body control. When you are on a training walk, make 'stop' and 'go' and 'come here' part of the game.

As for the language, I would do a simple positive statement. "Come here." and perhaps "NOW!" if that didn't do it.