How do you deal with misbehaving child without being so harsh?

Redirect/ time out: Moble toddlers will certainly test boundries often & require limit setting. Physicaly removing them from activities you find troublesome & placing them in front of toys you want them to use gives them redirection. Stopping their activity and holding them still for 1min/yr (use timer with bell) with release after bell teaches them which behaviors stop their fun.

Be Firm: Children naturally test limits. After all, they are not robots listening to every instruction without thinking.It is important to set the rules, explain why, set consequences, be consistant, be patient and do not give up. Children will generally respond after they realize that rules are always enforced in a calm way.

Discipline means : teaching, not punishment. Tell your 3-year-old at his language level what behaviors you expect, the immediate rewards for compliance & the immediate consequences for non-compliance, then follow through. The way to make a behavior go away is to ignore it, e.g., effectively use time-out. It is 10 times more effective to reward the behaviors you want than to ignore the behaviors you don't want.