diciplining and what really works.

so sophie is all of a sudden three years old. although it's so much easier now, no more potty training, no more lugging around a big diaper bag filled with baby food, milk and diaper, you don't have to watch their every step and all that stuff, i still find myself faced in unfamiliar situations and new challenges.
disciplining a toddler has to be the most challenging and most important phase in a person's growth. i'm talking about my growth. just kidding. not really. for both moms and kids. how in the world do you discipline a child? better yet, your own child.
before anyone thinks sophie is a problem child, i'd like to say for the record that i'm so lucky that she's a good baby and compared to all the stories i hear, i would say she acts like a three year old.
lately, she's been throwing tantrums - crying and screaming until she gets what she wants. i know it's common but not for sophie. i don't know if it's because of all the changes - moving to a different house, not seeing the rest of the family anymore and all that stuff. it started around the time j left (j left new york for miami a week before us).
stuff like that freaks me out. why? if you really think about it, it's really scary for moms. my sis always says, if you can't control them now, wait until they're in their teens. not that i want to be in control or anything but i do want sophie to listen to me.
when i was pregnant, i said to myself, i'll let my baby run wild and free. ahaha. that doesn't sound right. what i mean is to let them be more carefree. discipline by explaining instead of reward-and-punish. i have been but what i didn't include in my "master plan" are the other people. i'll be the first one to admit that sophie is pretty much sick of me by now, because i'm with her 24/7. so naturally, when there's other people around, i won't be her first pick.
so anyway, i've discovered that sophie isn't scared of anything or anyone. she knows all about jesus of course and not so much about "hell" or "not going to heaven" (i grew up so scared about going to hell but then again i grew up scared about a lot of silly things). bottom line - it's so freaking hard to explain the concept of consequences to a toddler. i saw an episode of john and kate + 8 once where if kids didn't finish their food, they'll just let them go hungry until the next meal. like i don't think i can do that. if the kid's hungry, the kid's hungry. right???
i have also tried ignoring her when she's throwing a fit. i hear that a lot. "just ignore her and let her cry". but what if we're at the mall or at the park. 
so anyway i find that the best way is the time out system. now that's makes more sense. actually the combination of time out, ignoring the cry and explaining the consequences of her action. i hate watching sophie cry for 5 mins. but it works!!!!!!!!
every child mom is different i guess. i am not the scary type. i mean i try to be but i'll leave that up to j. he can be the scary parent. ahahaa.
the whole reason behind this post is a result of a good day at the playground. every time we go to this new mall, it's always a battle how to get sophie out of the playground. get her back in her stroller which by the way she hasn't used in so long. the malls here are huge!!!!!! but today was just good.