Infantreflux.org | 9 month old with behavior issues!?! Help!

This topic has 12 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 18 years, 1 month ago by Anonymous.

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September 10, 2006 at 8:04 am #13232

Anonymous
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When Sebastian gets tired or is just cranky or not getting enough attention he goes out looking for trouble. My house is pretty well baby proofed, so for the most part he has free run of the house. The one area that he has to be told to stay away from is the TV/Stereo. We have been very consistent about telling him “no” firmly when he heads in that direction. He was doing very well and leaving it alone or getting away when we told him no.

Over the last few days he has started going straight for the TV and not listing when we say no. I will get my most serious face and tell him very sternly “no” and he will just start laughing and refuse to look at me. When I move him away he starts laughing like a crazy man and goes right back at it.

I have tried everything I can think of: loud scary no’s, soft but firm no’s, moving him with out looking at him or giving him any attention at all, trying to distract him with a toy or activity. No matter what I do he just keeps laughing and going back. When I get to the point that he is totally driving me crazy I just put him in the exersaucer so he cant get at it. Last night I did this four separate times. After I got him out he would go back to the TV after a few min of playing. He was way over tired and off schedule yesterday and was just out of control.

It seems like he is too young to be pulling this stuff and I have no idea what to do. I have spent most of my life working with kids, but mostly toddlers and elementary age. The babies I have been around have always responded to a firm no and/or redirection. I want to make sure that we are on the right path to having a well behaved respectful child. I just don’t know how to snap him out of it when he gets all weird like that.

September 10, 2006 at 9:29 am #13241

hellbennt
Keymaster

ok no time now- but I hate to say that you cannot expect “NO” to work at this age- they have zero impulse control- no understanding of (logical or otherwise) consequences-and, I personally DO NOT believe a baby is (mentally) capable of manipulating

he’s a babyyou have to just babyproof that area better so it doesn’t make you crazy…

hellbennt2006-9-10 9:50:0

September 10, 2006 at 9:38 am #13243

Anonymous
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It is weird because it does work when he is in a “normal’ mood. I say “Sebastian no” and he will look at me and then move on to something else. It is just when he gets in his ‘naughty’ mood that he will keep going at it and refuse to look at me and do the crazy laugh thing. Maybe I am just nuts, but I sware he is doing it on purpose.

Any one got any Ideas on how to block off an entertainment center?

September 10, 2006 at 9:51 am #13245

hellbennt
Keymaster

http://www.onestepahead.com has great ideas to go on…

September 10, 2006 at 9:56 am #13247

Anonymous
Inactive

Thanks for the link. I guess with another one on the way I better baby proof the @#*# out of the house now, so I don’t lose my mind.

September 10, 2006 at 10:25 am #13250

Anonymous
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I don’t doubt that he’s doing it on purpose to get a rise out of you; especially when he’s tired. Plus, I think Sebastian is ahead in his gross motor skills, so he can get into more trouble at his age than other babies can.

My personal philosophy when it come to infants is to keep 99 % of “no-no’s” out of their reach (a.k.a serious baby proofing). Here’s why. Having to continually say, “no, no” puts so much negativity into the day and causes lots of frustration for the baby and the parent. Since he responds to your requests to stay away from the tv/stereo for much of the day, he’s getting the idea, but when he’s tired his ability to control his impulses is much more limited. I’d get some baby proof items to keep him away from it, or do something simple like I do here….I put a padded ottomon type thing in front of the tv, looks pretty silly but keeps Myles away from it.

When they get closer to a year to a year and a half they have better control of themselves and you can start expecting some more favorable responses to the limits you set. For now, it’s still fine to say “no,” sometimes and teach him some limits, but it should be pretty limited.

I knew from his pictures that he was a little mischevious.

Myles is a little stinker, too. I had to move our couch in front of the fireplace to keep him away from it. I had to line up three recliners and an end table all in a row in front of our huge living room window because he kept pulling on the drapes and was breaking the plastic hangers and nearly choked on one of them. To make a long story short, our house is arranged for Myles’ safety and my sanity…not for any type of decorative style.

September 10, 2006 at 10:47 am #13256

Anonymous
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Thanks Christine, sounds like you are seriously lacking in decorating style but you have the baby thing all figured out. Just don’t expect your own show on HGTV. I think I will start with some rearranging.

I can get a fence thing with a gate in it, but it would be over $200 for the length we need and have to be screwed into the wall. That just seems a little extreme. I hope moving some things around will help.

I forgot about the fire place. We have a gas one and he has not noticed it, but it is getting cold already. I am sure he will be all over it when it is on and looking oh so pretty!

The second one better be easier. I have more then paid my dues with Sebastian!

September 10, 2006 at 11:08 am #13261

Anonymous
Inactive

he’s only 9 months old…………………!!!

kevieb2006-9-10 11:8:52

September 10, 2006 at 1:20 pm #13271

Anonymous
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Yeah, I know what you mean. The fireplace gate is about $169! That’s why I moved the couch.

You’ll have it all figured out by the time you have the second one! Myles is my third, and by far the most mischevious, but I’m always way ahead of him.

September 10, 2006 at 1:28 pm #13275

Anonymous
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I’m big into moving the problems out of reach, and then seriously baby proofing!!! Our house might not look great, but it helps to keep me sane. And my favourite pieces of baby proofing are the VCR cabinet latch, and the thing that goes over the TV buttons so that they can’t push all the buttons. We don’t have this upstairs, and when I came out of a VERY fast shower, Hailey had pushed aside a laundry basket that I had blocking the TV, and had managed to turn the TV off and open the VCR and was sitting on the floor eating the DVD.

Actually, this post is very timely… gotta run, becuase Hailey sounds like she is either eating or shredding the TV guide that I left on the coffee table!!

Hang in there!!! It’s a crazy age, but so much fun.

September 10, 2006 at 8:14 pm #13291

Anonymous
Inactive

I agree – I don’t think babies at 9 months can be expected to understand

what no really means and to have any impulse control. I personally believe

that by saying “no” too often, it loses it’s impact and becomes meaningless.

Like the others, I prefer to babyproof and do a lot of distraction and

redirection. And when there is something Marisa is REALLY interested in (like

my laptop computer or our bookshelves), I let her look at them a LOT unders

my supervision – it seems to get it out of her system and not make it such a

temptation. I prefer to save no for really big things – hitting, biting, etc

(both which we luckily haven’t had to deal with yet).

September 10, 2006 at 8:27 pm #13295

Anonymous
Inactive

OMG Katey, Aidan does the same thing, with me it’s the oven..which is a HUGE safety issue…the sterner the NO the more he laughs…..I hate to admit this but it got so bad, he went for the stove while it was ON-there’s no way to block our kitchen off (didn’t get near it I was right there) and I took his hand and gave it a little smack and said NO, HOT (just enough to startle him, it didn’t hurt him)..I felt horrible but it worked, he doesn’t go near it anymore…I did this with my first, but always ONLY with safety issues, once with the stove (like aidan) and I spanked him 2 times at 2, once for almost running into the street and once when he made a beeline for the fireplace at a friends house (both times he had already been told NO beforehand).I’m not a spanker, but when it comes to safety things like that, the consequences are much worse than a spanking. With anything else (ie the tv,playstation, computer, etc) I just say tell him that those are mommy’s toys and then say “where are aidan’s toys?” and move him to his toy shelves and say “there, those are Aidan’s toys”…has taken a while, but he’s getting the idea (we also use this method b/c of his older brother who sometimes plays in the living room, and obviously gets VERY ticked if Aidan tries to get his toys)

September 11, 2006 at 7:02 am #13323

Anonymous
Inactive

Jill, I guess it could be worse. At least it is not much of a safty issue with the TV. Though I do worry about the glass doors when he opens and slams them, before I can get to him.

I agree with all of you on saving the no’s as much as possible. It is nice to hear you all agree. The tv is really the only thing that I have not figured out how to baby proof.

I spent four days at my mom’s and all she did was tell Sebastian no! It drove me crazy. I would tell her to just put up whatever he was after and she said that he had to learn and there was no reason to move everything in the house. He would figure out the rules.

Hello! We were only there for four days! Even if he did figure it out he will forget by the next time we vist. I hated having so much negativity around him all day.

Thanks again for all the advice. I have to run, guess what Sebastian is doing!
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