Linzi

So sometimes Seth does things that I don't really want him to do, for his own safety. Example - he has a thing about plugs, al of our plugs have those plastic thingys in them, but Im sure he could get it out if he tried, and I don't really want him to think that sitting there and playing with them is ok anyway.

The other thing he likes to do is get between the fire and the fireguard. We cant drill it into the wall because if we did we couldn't turn the fire om and off, and also we're renting.

We always tell him 'no' and today I've yelled a couple of times which I feel terrible for, but when you get down to his level, move his hand and say no firmly he apparently thinks its hilarious. And he does it again. And again. I have the WORST headache today, which is why I've snapped and yelled today which is no excuse but that didn't even bother him, its just more funny apparently.

I just dunno -I feel like he's too young to be shouted at or told off, but he's not really a baby and I theres things he really needs to learn what to keep away from.

Any advice?

fifi83

My little girl is 16 month, if she is doing something i dont want her to do if i say no she wants to do it all the more. So now i go to her and say no firmly and take her mind off it if not she would keep going back and back. Am not sure how that will work in the long run but imo thats all you can do till they understand more

Cerellia

I don't exactly remember what my mom did, but she made me really understand how dangerous those things are. She was, however, very successful: I always screamed when I saw a plug that did not have that plastic thing on them. We had few plugs in our house that did not have them because they were out of my reach and I always said "they have an angry face", because I figured the holes as eyes *lol* It even went so far that my sister painted smily faces on them that I was not so afraid anymore.
And after I had seen a toxic mushroom in our garden, I did not dare to go to that part of the garden for years *lol*.
So, maybe don't just say "No", but explain why those things are dangerous.

Elliebump

I have exactly the same problem with my little girl. She's 18 months old and i think she's going through her terrible twos early.She used to listen when i said No but in recent weeks,she completely ignores me.It's not just her touching things she shouldn't,she has developed a habit of screaming for no reason.Not an upset/angry scream just an attention scream.She doesn't listen when i say no or raise my voice and i've tried putting her on a naughty step but she thinks its a game.

Hoping

Firstly, I am totally with you on this, Thomas does exactly the same thing. And I have shouted at him at times before too so don't beat yourself up about it, we can't have an endless supply of patience all the time.

Apparently, it is all about behaviour management at this age. You say no once, and then you get down to their level and say no and remove them and distract them with something else. And their memory is not good enough to remember that yesterday you said no, so they will do the same thing again the next day. It is all about distraction techniques when they are little, keeping your cool (when you can!) and as they get older it will sink in. Apparently there is also no point trying to reason with them at this age as they just don't get it. Their world revolves around what they want and need, right now and nothing else.
Got it all from a book!

xKimx

Oh my LO is 19 months and he has alot of tantrums and screams for attention! He can get out of harness from the highchair and constantly stand up on it When we go out he constantly needs attention so screams ! When he playing with his toys he throws them about When i take him out his bath he screams and throws himself back , If i say NO to him he pulls my hair and screams at me . I just dont know what else to do but say no ?

Elliebump

I know where you're coming from.Ellie stands in her high chair,and i say"No Ellie sit down" and she thinks that's a game too.When i say no to something she smacks me and throws a paddy.She even stamps her feet.Right little stropper sometimes. I really have no clue what else to do.Distracting her doesn't work either. I'm hoping she'll grow out of it.I'm ignoring her when she smacks me now,as saying no will just earn me another smack.Lol. She can be so good most of the time,i'm just hoping this is a little phase she's going through.

bethanylee

I don't know...but you're really not alone hun! I think most parents feel like this. I've tried a few things with Alasdair but I'm confused about how much he understands. But then sometimes he is so cheeky and seems to really know what he's doing. I dunno. I'm at a loss.

toriaaaaTRASH

Caitlyn understands pretty much everything I say now. We focused for a while on the word dangerous and that mummy doesn't want her to things that are dangerous because mummy loves Caitlyn and wouldn't want anything bad to happen to her. I don't for one second think she understands all of that, but she will, and 9 times out of 10 getting down to her level and explaining to her why she isn't allowed to do it, works. I'm not saying I don't snap either. There's plenty of times she has done something naughty and it has scared me and I've shouted "no!" I just try my best to tell her why she isn't allowed to do something.

Like just now she was putting her Mickey Mouse teapot on her head. I said "Caitlyn, mummy doesn't want you to do that because it's dangerous and could get stuck on your head." What did she do next? Got it stuck on her head. Atleast she knows mummy doesn't lie or say no for her own benefit though! x

Danilou1910

Charlie is 30 months now, he has been a terror since he could crawl, as he learnt to climb before walk and it went from there.

He is a very bright little guy, to clever at times that it makes it even harder for me. I am trying the naughty mat at the moment (mat near the front door) as I have a gate on my bottom step again as he is really bad for sneaky up the stairs in a flash and it terrifies me incase he falls.

I always get down to his level, he is always given at least 1 warning, 2 if it's not dangerous just naughty. But if he does something really bad I will put him straight on his mat for 2 mins. I then explain again why he was put there and he has to apologise and we have a cuddle.

I haven't always done this as I have been to soft on him previously and he has got away with murder. I have shouted a few times, it's normal we are not all saints and toddlers will test your patience to the max, i found it even harder when I was trying to battle PND and care for a toddler.

But I have to admit that it is gradually working, he is understanding more and more. But he is far from perfect. To make it sink in more, he has a naughty chair at my mums and a naughty step at his grannies. Basically I always use timeout where ever I am so he know I am serious, but keeping calm and firm means more to him than shouting.

I have a really short patience span and it has stemmed from my PND so it's as much a learning curve for me as much as it is for him, to help me get back to who I was too. just find something that feels right for you and stick at it, he will learn it will just take time.