> Simulating the immediate reaction can only work if it's as consistent.
> Namely that X + parent == pain, instead of just that X == pain.. If you
> implement (X,Y,Z,A,J,K) + parent == pain, but X..K by themselves don't,
> then eventually they learn that it's really parent that equals pain.
Well... Possibly. But given that the alternative is letting things like playing with electrical wiring or running on to the road unpunished and without consequence, I think you owe it to yourself and to your kid to do the best you can and make sure there's a punitive response that's as immediate as possible, even when you know you can't do it 100% of the time.
And, having a painful/punitive result 75% out of a 100 times is still MUCH better than allowing it to go on.
Keep in mind that even when they are too young to understand the reasons for punishment, it WILL eventually register that certain actions are very bad. But that's okay, the reasoning why it's bad can slot in later with the much more basic pavlov-like result that they experienced when they were two years old.
You KNOW this is happening when you see them play with friends, and your kid is lecturing her friend on why it's bad to run on to the road! (Mine is 3 years and a couple months).
> I haven't decided which approach I'm going to take just yet..
> I only have another couple months. :(
Trust me, correcting your kid's mistakes is built into you as well. All parents who love and care about their kids WILL take immediate punitive action when their kid does something dangerous. I personally found that it doesn't matter much if this punishment comes in the way of a smack or some yelling/lecturing as they seem equally effective. (Possibly lecturing is more effective only because I don't smack very hard and then still feel guilty for smacking the kid, so for me personally I give a more consistent message overall if I stick to the yelling/lecturing. :) )
The one thing that of course won't work is any kind of punishment that's applied far into the future or otherwise not immediate.