The terrible 1's?!?

Dd will be 15mos on Friday and in the last month she has started screeching, throwing food, and having short tantrums. I know I'm supposed to ignore the tantrums but I'm really starting to get upset about things. We don't hit her (I don't think she would understand it at this age anyways) but I will speak to her with a firm voice. If she screeches I'll say "please use your inside voice" and then she'll do it again so I ask again with a more harsh tone and then we repeat the cycle. If she knows she's being clever she'll even smile at me while she does it. I make it a point to keep a straight face. How else can I discipline a one year old? I'm so afraid of what 2 and 3 will have in store for us if this is how she is at 1.

For the record, she only does this while she's home and it isn't constant but I don't want it to get out of hand.

The terrible 1's?!?

I don't worry about the screeching. I kinda think that is all just part of them learnign new things.

Throwing things we jsut tell him no. He is getting it but it is also part of learning. DS is getting more strength so he wants to throw the ball but then throws something he is not supposed to.

I wouldn't go too crazy because at this age its all about learnign soemthing new. Just tell them no when and they will start to get it. You will have good and bad days. DS is an angel soem and a terror others.

The terrible 1's?!?

You seriously just described my 14 month old. The screeching only went on for a little bit - thank goodness! She would do it at Gymboree and throw a tantrum and that wasn't fun.
I try not to lose my temper or raise my voice and remind myself that she's just a baby learning. I sternly say "no" and if she keeps doing whatever, I say 'no" again and redirect (learned that on here). It's hard because she throws herself on the floor or throws her head back and starts crying but gets over it pretty quickly.

Message edited 7/22/2013 12:00:21 PM.

The terrible 1's?!?

It's the age. I think it's totally normal. My DS is 15m and he is LOUD. Saying "shh" does not work on him, he doesn't get it yet. Throwing stuff - I give him a warning. I'll give it back and tell him "no throwing. If you throw it again, it goes bye-bye." And sure enough, he will usually throw it again but I take it away. They have to experiment in order to learn right and wrong. I just pick my battles and stay firm on the rules I set for him. The major ones are not doing anything to hurt someone (throwing, hitting, etc). The screeching, for now I let it go. Hang in there, we've all been there with toddlers.

Re: The terrible 1's?!?

That's my 13-month-old. Some things I ignore, like throwing/dropping food. Other things that are more potentially destructive, I give a firm "no," and redirect her. She currently loves to bang hard toys on our glass coffee table. I say no, remove the toy, and try to get her to play with something else. I tried giving her a soft toy to bang, but she's too smart for that...lol!

The terrible 1's?!?

The "terrible 2s" actually don't even start at 2 - they start closer to 18 months and sometimes earlier. They're going through a growth spurt / brain development around that time and have no clue what's going on, can't communicate their feelings, etc so they act accordingly.

I recommend reading the "Happiest Toddler on the Block". It definitely helped me to handle the tantrums better!

Re: The terrible 1's?!?

Thanks everyone! Will try to keep my cool and just roll with it. Definitely going to try that book.

Re: The terrible 1's?!?

So glad to see I'm not alone. DD is 14 months and has been just like your LO since around 12 months. When she gets mad, she throws things. If she doesn't have something to throw, she finds something. She throws herself on the floor and kicks her legs. It has been driving me nuts, hoping it will pass. Her new thing is doing things just to get me to say no and then she laughs. So frustrating! I thought this was supposed to be the 2's... what am I in for then!

The terrible 1's?!?

Sounds just like DD on some days. If she's tired or her teeth are bothering her, forget it. She can have 25 tantrums in a matter of 10 minutes. I just ignore it and redirect her. Usually if I start to whisper she'll get quiet so she can hear me. I'll just quietly talk ot her, usually just telling her what we're going to do and she really listens. Sometimes I'll sing and that usually makes her happy. She just got over being sick and being stuck inside all day for several days got to be rough. We both got stir crazy and the crabbiness was not fun!