My blog friend Pieper left this comment after my last post:
Olivia (who is now 14.5 months) is in a stage right now where she is scowling and hitting me in face ALL THE TIME, like she is mad at me! It's like she is craving attention (which she gets all the time) but prefers the negative attention. I seriously don't know what to do. Nothing I am doing now is working! NOt sure what I "should" be doing with a child this young (there's that word- "should"). Ok, this is better- what worked for you? I welcome any advice!
Obviously, Evy isn't at the age where we're having to discipline yet, so if any of you more experienced moms want to leave your counsel in a comment, I know a lot of young moms will learn from you!
Thanks in advance!
2 comments:
I hope this helps some! Both of my children went through a particularly nasty phase just after the first birthday. It seems that the newfound independence of walking and the frustration of limited comminication build up into some nasty actions. Your baby is likely loving independence, but still craving being your "baby." When either of my children made an ugly face at me, I would quickly make a funny face and tell them how silly they were. It took a few days, but they caught on and giggles ensued! As far as hitting goes - when your baby does this, sit her down immdiately, take her hands and look her in the face, even if she's SCREAMING. Tell her that mommy doesn't like that and it is a no-no. If possible, proceed to isolate her from you for a minute or two. This may take some serious time, but the withdrawl of your presence in this situation is key - she has to understand that it has a dire negative consequence. Again, this is just what worked for me! I hope it helps a little!
Put her down immediately after she hits you (obviously in a safe place) and simply tell her, "That hurts Mommy when you hit". Show her some fun things that you can do with her hands like color, clap, dance, wave, etc... to show her the correct way to use her hands.
Like you said, all she wants is your attention, but if you immediately put her down and give her the opposite of what she wants, she'll see her little plan backfired.
Whatever plan you choose to go with, try and be as consistent as possible. Consistency usually (not always) works the best.
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