Startling to discipline at 10 months?

[Yesso]

DS has hit 10 months and has very suddenly stopped feeling like a baby. He’s on the move now, my husband and I are in disagreement about when to start ‘disciplining’ him.

For instance he kneels against a cabinet with glass doors and bangs on it, likewise with any mirrors in the house. I feel we should be moving him away and saying ‘no’ in a stern voice. My husband is happy to let him do it and stands behind him in case he falls.

Am I crazy to think eventually the penny will drop if I keep saying no and he will stop doing it? Husband thinks he is way too young, but if we don’t start now when do we start?

Not sternly but "no banging" "no that's dangerous" and move him away. You're not telling him off. You're teaching him.

Discipline is training not punishing, the earlier you start the better. Lengthy explanation can come later if at all. Also, you can't baby proof everything - obviously things which are dangerous but what happens when you go other places, they need to learn what no means.

I definitely started using ‘no’ with my daughter as soon as she was on the move (probably a little older, 12-14 months). Even if it doesn’t work straight away it doesn’t do any harm. Alongside actually moving her away from anything where she actually might hurt herself of course. But if she was then crawling/walking towards something I didn’t want her to Touch I’d say ‘no’ in a specific tone and from very young she’d hesitate/stop as she knew what it meant. My nephew on the other hand not so much 😂 my child is very compliant however.

This. My dd put her foot thru a glass cabinet because the sitter didn't think it would break. She was between 11 months and a year.

You are not disciplining him. You are keeping him safe. Of course it's ok to say NO in a firm and different voice than you would usually use. Yes you can baby proof but don't baby proof everything as they need to learn there are just some things they don't do and that helps when you go to other places that they understand NO.

You can't "discipline" a ten month old baby. What you can do is move them to a safe spot and redirect their attention to something safe - buy a big plastic mirror and let him play with that.

Yes, of course you start at 10 months.

You start at whatever age they are when they're doing something you don't want them to be doing.

At 10 months, it would be a definite "no" and removing them from the area. And repeat.

I wouldn't put this in the discipline category, rather the "keeping baby safe" category. Discipline is correcting bad behaviours. There is nothing wrong with moving him away and saying "ah-ah dangerous" or simply "no" and distracting him if he is doing something that can hurt him. However, you do need to baby proof your house a bit better too. I certainly wouldn't continue to let him bang on a glass door or mirror while I stood behind him.

Same as my mum. She always had glass cabinets displayed ornaments and crockery etc. None of us kids or her grandkids were allowed to touch and we all learned this early on.

Now is the time to go around your home and baby proof it before he has an accident.

We always said 'no' to things like that as soon as they were on the move. We never had anything broken or destroyed & I think they knew it wasn't allowed. We didn't discipline them - more move them away & firmly say no. I think if you wait too long they will start causing mayhem. I don't consider myself to be overly strict.

In the situation you describe, that's a danger so yes I'd absolutely move him. Probably wouldn't say "no!" sternly, but would say it in a neutral voice and distract with something else.

I can tell you, "no" probably will never work nevermind a 10mo baby

You need to educate yourself in your child's brain development

My daughter walked at 10 months , and I'd quite often see her touching, things, shaking her head and saying no no. They do learn quicker than you think.

Baby proof and distract. He doesnt care if you say no. In fact, it could be quite funny.

This.

Utghhh no - it’s a BABY. You have to PARENT THEM.

Came to say this. Your baby is reaching a key developmental stage of exploration,
if you start shutting everything down with a hard ‘no’, you are regressing stimuli. Obviously just allowing him to do something dangerous is absolutely not the way either.

Remember, the early years is about modelling behaviour. Would you appreciate being spoken to in continuous negative tones when just getting on with your life? Distraction and short, meaningful explanations is the better way of dealing with it.

Exactly!

My toddler is going through a climbing phase. He will announce ‘mum, look, climbing!’. If I respond with ‘no, don’t’ he literally shushes me and says ‘quiet!’. Tiny monsters the lot of them….

About 10 months is where they start to understand ‘no’ and being removed. Some a bit earlier some a bit later. I’d say if he’s suddenly starting to feel a bit more grown up and less like a baby then you’ve probably hit the sweet spot in terms of the changes in his brain and understanding of the world around him. Just be careful you don’t over use it.

baby-proofing the house, distraction and saying no aren’t mutually exclusive. Parenting at this age will involve all 3 at different times and in combination with each other. I’d be less than impressed at your DH though.

Don’t worry the baby will be fine.

I would say you and your DH need to be on the same page though. Consistency is going to be important. Nothing is going to be more confusing than one parent allowing him to hit the glass and the other removing him every time.