Little one doesn't listen!

[avasmummyx]

Does anybody else's child refuse to listen to them?!
My daughter is 18 months old and has a very big, strong willed personality she's a stubborn little madam and can be a bit of a handful.
I find myself saying 'no' constantly. Asking her not to do something then half a minute later she's doing it again.
I've tried raising my voice but she doesn't care and just looks at me like "I don't care"
There's things we tell her every day not to do like messing about with the switch on the fish tank or going by the side of the sofa or turning off the tv/messing with remotes but she does it constantly throughout the day as if she's forgotten she's been told off for it before!

Is this just an age thing?
What do you do when your child doesn't listen?

It is an age thing yes....when mine repeatedly went for things which were out of bounds, I just changed the set up so those things were either out of sight or inaccessible.

I'm sure your fish tank switch is hard because the tank isn't something you can move easily....what I would do is use gaffa tape to secure a small tupperware over it so she can't touch it.

You will have to remove the tub every time you need the switch but that's easier than telling her "no" umpteen times a day.

Remotes...place them very high and out of sight.

She's supposed to be doing exactly this!

My 19 month is the same, doesn't listen at all, but I guess thats normal at this age!

Completely normal. My dd has just turned 3 and is only just starting to listen and cooperate (most of the time anyway).

I don't think you can hope to control an 18yo through verbal instructions, let alone expect her to remember and obey verbal instructions from one day to another: she's just not ready for that.

You just have to distract, occupy and gently move her away. Keep as many non-touchables as possible out of reach, be as on the ball as you can, and reserve the number of "no's" to things that really can't be dealt with in any other way. And even then- don't expect immediate returns: you may have to carry on saying "no" for months, even years, before you can rely on the result. The important thing ime is that once you have said "no" to such a small child, you should also ensure that she can't handle the thing she is not supposed to. So you say "no" and take the vase away. You say "no" and lift her away from the switch. Eventually she will learn to connect the two and suss out that if mummy says "no" the thing I want isn't going to happen.