Am i getting thru to him??

[Gribel]

Hi,
I have a 11 month old little man, and I'm wondering sometimes wheter I get thru to him when saying NO :shame: . Sometimes it seems that i'm just repeating myself stupid and he doesn't listen anyway, but then again he does something (like going to the catfood) and it seems he knows he's doing something he's not supposed to. I tried the 'moving him away from it' , smack on the hand and/or bum (no, no belting JUST a light smack) yet still he does it. Otherwise he's a good little fella. Am I not getting thru to him?:banghead: Or is this just a game to see who's more patient (and at the moment he's winning) ???:laughing:
Should I keep repeating the NO NO NO?? I just don't want to be a mum who yells at him.
Idealy I want to be able just to explain to him that we don;t do THAT or that it is naughty or whatever...

ANY ADVICE??

[tyler's mum]

i think most kids like to test there parents patients,,, don't give up just keep saying no:shame: and doin all the things you have been,,, he will get it sooner or later... he is only 11 months so give him a little more time.... and if he does'nt seem to be getting it maybe you could have a naughty spot....

stick to your guns and don't give in to him:thumbsup: .... good luck

[Tea Lady]

It's tricky isn't it? My Dd is 13 mo and I often wonder the same thing (or more to the point I know she knows what I mean, but keeps doing it anyway - so what to do next :confused: ). So far we've had success with saying no once and then if she does it again (WHEN she does it again :rolleyes: ) say no firmly and move her away so she gets the idea. If she does it again I move her right away ie out of the room. Distraction can sometimes work too. Also I think they can start to get the idea with "good boy / girl" when they do what you say - very important.

I also try to minimise what I say no to so I'm not just saying it all day - if it doesn't really matter, I just let her get on with it and clean up the mess later! It can make the day very long can't it?

[drewid]

Thats exactly what we do too, Lucy. I think its oh-so-important to pick your battles! Like you said, we could be saying no all day. This is something I am trying to teach my husband...it must be a man thing, he just doesn't get the concept!

Andrew is well trained at the moment - if he finds something small on the floor that isn't food, he'll pick it up and bring it to me - so all day I get these little presents of a bit of carpet and other odds and ends. He's a funny thing.

[Gribel]

Hi Girls
thanks all for your tips and advice. It's reassuring to know that we are not the only ones fighting the battle. Yes, sometimes it does seems that we say :shame: all day, so taking a step back will help. Like Isaid, miggest concern is him picking at the catfood, we do try our best and move on to the bench whenever he's around, but surely that can't be a longtime solution? Poor cats have to jump basically up and down when they want a feed or drink. All the other stuff I do try and let go as good as I can.

Well I guess we just have to wait out and see who will be the winner in the end...:yelclap:

Thanks again :thumbsup:
Belinda

[Chickadee]

Belinda,
I think you're doing fine. Persistence and consistency do pay off in the end. At 11 months bubs may remember they're not supposed to do something, but sometimes the temptation is just too great. My DD liked to play in the dogs water (and still gravitates to any water) so we eventually had to move it out of her reach. Poor dogs had to wait for us to open a baby gate when they wanted a drink, but it only lasted a few months till she grew and understood better.

Personally I'd leave the cat's food out of reach for the time being, it's less stress on you and too big a temptation for your son. And cats are good jumpers, they won't mind much. My parents wound up keeping the cats food and water on top of the washing machine (to get it out of reach of the dog) so that might be an alternative to having the cat on the kitchen counter.

[cobysmummy]

my son is also 11 months and seems to think sometimes its funny when mummy says no!

he is usually good when i say :shame: but lately he has found it fun to throw all his nappies around the lounge room where i keep a stash upstairs... he throws one and i say no coby.... he goes straight back and throws another and i point and say mummy said no... then if and usually when he does it again i give him a light smack on the hand and then move him away and again say no...

but sometimes its so hard not to laugh!!
sometimes i think all he is hearing is :ecomcity: :rolleyes:

[Gribel]

Hi Helen
I know EXACTLY what you mean, Riley does the same thing with his nappies. Normally it starts with the nappies and then he works his way thru the lounge and throws off the pillows and whatever was planted on there before.
And you are right, most of the times he does something naughty that is just too funny and you can't help but laugh. :laughing:
I guess it;s a learning curve for all of us and we do have to keep in mind that they have so much more to learn. So :shame: might be just a game to them sometimes.

[caitsmum]

Gribel: 1. pick your battles
2. try and make your house as child friendly as it can be, it will make life a lot easier for both of you, he is still only so little and life is one big game. He will grow past this.

I know it is a bit hard to see the upside, but he sounds like a very intelligent, inquisitive child with a great sense of humor - what great attributes to have.

Good luck

[BJelly]

Hi I agree with what caitsmum said,

We have a cat and we put a childproof gate up in the laundry room and that's where we keep the cat's dish. Childproofing the place makes life so much easier for yourself.

When it comes to training kids it is persistance, persistance, persistance. Stay calm, they don't mean any harm, they need to know that the boundaries are the same day after day. Their little brains are still learning so much, so they need lots of practice before they learn something.

Don't forget to praise them when they do the right thing, like when my bub walks past the bin without touching it (that's her biggest temptation), I tell her she is a good girl for not touching the bin and give her a cuddle.

Another thing I do, is I don't say "no" I make an "a-a" noise, when Laura is about to touch or do something she isn't supposed to. It's nice to have an alternative to "no".

[cupcakemafia]

Ditto to all of the above.

And when I used to work in child care I used to find success in these sorts of situations when instead of constantly going NO NO NO :ecomcity: , I'd instead keep a close eye on the "offender" and praise them when they do the RIGHT thing. They love being told they're clever and good, so they focus more on doing the right thing and not the wrong thing. It used to work for me :fingerscrossed:

I can't seem to form sentences properly at the moment so I hope that makes sense.