Here are some suggestions to hopefully help your young child learn from mistakes without feelings ashamed by them.

1.  If your child is having a major meltdown, hold your child and calmly tell  her you're going to keep the child safe until  she is back in control.

2.  Give your child chances to calm herself down through hugging, quiet sitting or time outs.  Be calm in how to speak to your child; keeping her in the thinking part of her brain, instead of the lizard part.

3.  Know what triggers get your child upset or in trouble.  Remove as many as you can.  if the child is beginning to get upset, intervene immediately so it doesn't get worse.  Your child's behavior is telling you she's frustrated and doesn't have the words to express it.  Give her a hug and say, Thanks for letting me know you're upset."

Food and mealtimes can become a struggle in the child's third year.  It's important for parents to establish clear boundaries and rules so the children learn at an early age how to behave at meal times.  Here are some points to consider:

1.  Three year olds will NOT learn from lectures about table manners.  They will be able to learn once they are four or five years old.  Spare your self the wasted energy.

2.  Do not press food as an issue.  Don't force a child to eat; its a losing battle.  Simply let the child knoiw if she's through eating that's okay.  The next meal will be served at....... Then, by all means, do NOT feed her until the next meal.  She won't starve and she'll learn a very important lesson.

3.  Offer small portions of food.

4.  As soon as your child begins playing with his food, thank ...   more »

Jeff  Herring published an interesting article on the internet titled

"Laws for Parents of Toddlers and Preschoolers."  I think you'll enjoy it.