Disciplining a preschooler requires a combination of art and science. It also requires some serious agility. What worked last week may no longer be effective.

Patience and consistency can be key to addressing behavior problems for your three-, four-, or five-year-old. At the same time, you might need to use a little trial and error at times to see what discipline strategies work best for your family.

Verywell / Emily Roberts

Typical Preschooler Behavior

A preschooler’s budding development means your child will want to be independent. This quest for autonomy can present new parenting challenges in terms of behavior and discipline needs. And your child might enjoy experimenting with new behaviors just to see how you'll respond.

The transition into preschool may cause your child to experience separation anxiety.﻿﻿ Or, they may have fears about interacting with other children and teachers.

Children ​at this age may also be experimenting with pushing boundaries and limits and may show defiance. They may feel frustrated about not being able to do what they want to do because their motor skills are not as refined yet. These frustrations and anxieties can often lead to behavior problems such as defiance, back talk, dawdling, and more.

Preschoolers have a basic understanding of right from wrong. They can follow simple rules and often aim to please adults. However, they don’t understand adult logic, so they sometimes struggle to make healthy choices.

Although they should be developing improved impulse control, your child will still need a lot of work in this area. They might yell, say mean things or exhibit outbursts. They often test rules and limits but should start developing a better understanding of the direct consequences of their behavior.

Typical Behavior Separation anxiety

Frustration

Pushing boundaries

Can follow simple rules

Developing impulse control Behavioral Challenges Lying

Whining

Reverting to baby talk

Defiance

Aggressive behavior

Common Challenges

Lying is a common challenge in preschoolers.﻿﻿ Sometimes, their stories are an attempt to get out of trouble and at other times, they’re simply using their imaginations to tell far-fetched stories.

Whining is another common issue during the preschool years.﻿﻿ Preschoolers often think if you say no the first time, begging and whining will force you to change your mind. But note, if they’re successful at annoying you into submission once, they’ll be convinced they can do it again.

In many homes, baby talk is near the top of the list of annoying preschool behaviors. But reverting to baby talk can be a normal part of preschool development. Sometimes, preschoolers use it to gain attention. Other times, they regress due to stress or anxiety. For example, a child may begin to use baby talk right before they enter kindergarten because they are nervous about the transition.

Although preschoolers often want to be helpful, they also like to assert their independence. It’s common for them to say, “No!” when you tell them to do something just to see how you'll react.

Most preschoolers have gained a little mastery over temper tantrums but still haven’t gained enough impulse control to prevent the occasional aggressive behavior. Hitting, kicking, and biting may still be a problem.

Discipline Strategies That Work

An effective discipline should include negative consequences that deter misbehavior from being repeated and positive consequences that motivate your child to keep up the good work.﻿﻿ While your plan should be tailored to your child’s temperament, the following discipline strategies are usually most effective for preschoolers.

Praise Good Behavior

Provide lots of praise and encouragement to promote good behavior. Just make sure your praise is genuine. Rather than saying, “You’re the best kid in the whole world,” say, “Thank you for putting your dish in the sink when I asked you to.”

Place Your Child in Time-Out or Calming Corner

Use an automatic time-out for major rule violations, like aggression, or for those times when your child doesn’t listen to a directive. You might say, "It's okay to be disappointed, but it's not okay to hit. It's time to go to the calm-down corner and practice our belly breathing."

Remove Privileges

If your preschooler refuses to go to time-out or the offense isn’t worthy of a few minutes away from the action, try removing a privilege connected to the behavior. Communicate to your child: "Since you threw the toy at your friend, the toy is in time-out for ten minutes."

Create a Reward System

If your child is struggling with a specific behavior, like staying in their own bed all night, create a sticker chart. Then, tell them once they earn a certain amount of stickers (like three or five), they can get a bigger reward, like picking a special movie to watch. Reward systems can slowly be phased out after your child has learned the skills they need to meet their goals.

Keep in mind that it is important to determine the reason underlying the behavior. Why is your child having trouble staying in their bed at night? Discuss this calmly and directly, with lots of empathy. Once you determine the reason for the behavior, you can problem-solve together.

Preventing Future Problems

When it comes to disciplining a preschooler, prevention can be the best strategy. Stay one step ahead by being mindful of situations that are likely to be difficult for your child.

Most preschoolers struggle to manage their behavior when they're hungry, overtired, or overwhelmed. So pack snacks, allow for plenty of rest, and plan outings for when your child is likely to be at their best. Establish a daily routine so your child knows what is expected of them throughout the day. Preschoolers do best when they have plenty of structure.﻿﻿

Create clear rules and limits as well. Explain your expectations before entering new situations (such as how to behave in the library), and warn your child about the consequences of breaking the rules.

Many of the behavior problems preschoolers exhibit result from their struggles managing their emotions—especially anger. Teach your preschooler simple anger management skills. For example, blow bubbles with your child as a way to teach them to take deep, calming breaths and teach them to use “bubble breaths” when they feel mad.

Establish house rules about aggressive behavior. Teach your child that it is okay to feel angry but not okay to hurt anyone or destroy property.

Communication Tips

While your preschooler has a better understanding of language skills, it’s important to keep your communication brief and effective.﻿﻿ Skip the lengthy lectures and establish good communication habits with your child now. Here are several effective ways to communicate with your preschooler: