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I am hoping you ladies can either give me some pointers or at least tell me I am not alone. My 18 mo. old ds is a wild man! I have an older ds that was completely different. This child is climbing everything, all the way to the kitchen table and the backs of the chairs and sofas, he throws everything out of every cabinet and drawer. He just walks around nonchalantly tossing things behind him. He is so curious. We have been inside a lot for the last couple of weeks because it has been so cold and rainy so I know he is a little frustrated (this baby loves the outdoors more than anything) but he has been so bad lately! He is starting to have little tantrums where he screams very quickly when he doesn't get his way and he will lash out and whack me or pull my hair sometimes too. What is with all this attitude? How do I punish him? He is too young for time out. He doesn't ever sit still as long he is awake! He is a huge boy with tons of energy - he is already 36 in. and 32 pounds and my arms and back ache from wrestling with him to change his diapers, get him dressed, get him from place to place (he has started the old throw the hands up in the air trick when I pick him up so he slides out of my arms unless I wrestle him back up). Ugh. He is making me kookoo. Any advice???
I will add that he is not a cuddly baby and never has been. He is loving and he loves his family to pieces but he will not sit on your lap unless you are reading a book or holding something yummy to eat. He talks like crazy and has for a few months now. He is very smart but he is so busy and so determined.
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My oldest wasnt' like that - *but* I do know it's normal for some. I have a friend who's dd can scale *anything* - I wouldn't be surprised to see her climbing a flat wall. Advice - I'd try taking him to places that he can use up some of that energy - play place w/tubes and tunnels, playground when it's warm out. Maybe try setting up an obstacle course in your h ouse w/couch cushions and sheet tunnels. Good luck!
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Here are some ideas
-try a visit to a children's museum or take him to a play area like at the mall or McDonalds.
- Buy a tunnel so he can play in that
- Fill a cake pan with some rice or sand and let him pour it between cups or drive cars in it
- find a fun kids movement video and keep him active that way
- If you have room in your home buy a little indoor slide or jungle gym and let him go crazy
- Buy blocks and building materials and let him have fun knocking them down
At that age the best thing is distraction and redirection. I would try redirection first like you cannot throw books but you can buid a block tower and knock it down. But if he is being naughty and redirection does not work you can always give him a time out on your lap for a minute or so and explain why you are doing it....they may not have the speech yet but the still understand what we are saying.
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Thanks for the ideas. I will have to look for one of those tunnels. I think Ikea sells them. We do a lot of that already and he plays outside at our neighborhood playground almost every day. We make sure he gets lots of exercise because it definitely helps. But it just seems like the last couple of weeks he has been feisty with a little nastiness to it. It is not cute anymore. He stomps around if he doesn't get his way and he is talking and putting a couple of words together so he demands things all the time. I think he is just testing his power with me, but I didn't expect it so early. My older son didn't give me this much trouble until he hit about 2 1/2!
He is cutting his 2 year molars and I think that is making him nastier too. Thank God these are his last teeth. We have been teething for the last year!!!
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Just be firm and loving and all will work out. Just keep letting him know Mommy is boss but let him make a few choices for himself. Be happy your kid is going through this phase....if he was perfect all of the time then you would have to worry.
Jen
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You described my 2 yr old Ds to a T! He's 2.5 weighs 46 lbs and is 3 ft 4 in tall. He doesn't sit still, he is always into something, and will throw down if you say "No" to something he wants a lot of times. Ignore the fits and he will gradually take notice and stop. Don't let him get away with the hair pulling and hitting though, for that sit him in the kitchen or something and sit there with him, but ignore him wanting to play with you. I think the time limit is 1 minute per year of age so he should sit for a minute and a half. As for him being bored and getting into things, what I do with Ds is give him a certain amount of things he can make a mess with, blocks, news paper, and pots and pans. When he's done messing I make a game out of picking it all back up. HTH!
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I swore my older son hit the "terrible twos" at 18 months. But no, it got worse when he actually turned two. Now that he's three, he makes two look tame (although in some ways he's better now that he's old enough to understand directions). My 16 month old, although he seems more tame than his brother did at this age, is also becoming a handful. Lately he has started hitting and it's driving me bananas that "no" just doesn't seem to work with him.
Anyway, I don't have any suggestions about activities - I don't do nearly enough with my kids so I'm definitely not the one to be giving advice. I did, however, want to suggest putting your son in a pack'n'play or his crib for time out. My 16 month old won't sit on a chair either, but when he's misbehaved and needs to be disciplined beyond a firm "no" - he goes in his crib for a minute or two (we did this with my older son as well). It's not perfect, but it gets the point across...eventually they start to understand.
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Thanks for the bright look into my future for the next couple of years! The pack n play is a great idea. I will pull that right out and give it a try. I think he can probably climb out of it but maybe he won't. I don't want him to associate bed with being in trouble so I don't want to put him in the crib. I don't want him to start thinking about climbing out of there!
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you definitely aren't alone. My oldest baby is 22 months old now. He started his wild man days around 18 months and is still going strong. He runs on the couch, jumps on his bed (by the way, he moves so much, even in his sleep, so we had to put ALL of our mattresses directly on the ground and store our bedframes cause he falls off and flips off of everything). I just can't wait for the weather to warm up a little so I can run his energy out of him. He thinks he is done with naps now too
He did the tantrum thing for a little bit, (right after we brought our new baby home, she's 3 months now)...... and I would just ignore it when he was throwing himself onto the floor, kicking.. and he finally quit. He's gotten a lot better....if only I could get him potty trained.....
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I have a little wild man on my hands as well. He is only 14mths, but he is very strongwilled! I know there are many tantrums in our future! I am glad he plays well by himself, but I know i will have to get creative in play and discipline soon. Thank goodness spring is around the corner!