12 Months and already the boss...

[Hayley1324]

my 12mo has started hitting and nipping, but he only does it to me and when i say no he laughs! my 5yo was still sweet and innocent at that age. should i ignore it or carry on saying no?

stand firm. no matter how often you need to, you must stay the boss. not easy if you have a strong willed child. dc2 was/is headstrong and determined, i felt her early years were a constant battle but i never backed down. neither did she!, but she never actually crossed the boundary, just pushed them constantly. i firmly believe she'd be a wild child nightmare obnoxious girl to this day if i didn't clamp down and reign her in. she's 13 and has never changed! at least no one will walk over her in later life

Its so strange because my Dh thinks he's too young to start teaching right from wrong and thinks that he wont understand it yet, but i can tell he does. Why does he only do it to me though?

They're only boss if you let them.

Im quite a strict parent and usually stick to my guns but how can you punish a 1yo? When i say no he just thinks its a joke. xx

he wont understand that it hurts you, he will be doing it to get a reaction tho.

at this age i would say no and distract, he is too little for telling off etc, but its a case of stopping him if you can, also showing him how to be gentle so rather than saying NO all the time. when mine were this age and hurt me i would take hold of their hand and show them how to be gentle and say 'gentle hands' showing him how to stroke you gently etc as opposed to slapping you.

and distraction is your friend at this age.

at that age with mine i would firmly say no in a deeper voice than usual, with a very stern look on my face, if they were on my knee or being held i would put them down, that way they're taken away from the situation as a direct result of their action. i agree with previous posters, they don't understand they're hurting you or that the behaviour is unacceptable, and they do do it for the reaction - that's why your reaction has to be consistent each time. he probably only does it with you as they soon learn what buttons they can push on different people! very clever these young babes