Advice on 18 month old

[Cottoneyed12]

Feeling a bit puzzled as to how best to deal with my 18 month old. She’s very clingy and demanding but on the whole happy and developing well.

Recently she has started to bang her head when she is angry. So if I say “no, we can’t watch tv right now/eat that/climb on there” she will get angry and bang her head off the floor/cupboard/me.

She then cries because it hurts.

What should I be doing? Stopping her, telling her no, ignoring the behaviour. She hasn’t hurt herself badly yet but it’s not nice to watch.

Also she’s becoming fussy at meal times which I know is normal but I’m unsure if I should be offering her something else. Usually I offer her cereal an hour or so after dinner as I don’t want to send her to bed hungry but it’s beconing a regular occurrence that I’m not sure if I should continue or not?

Firstly, head banging is quite a normal stage of development for some toddlers when they're frustrated.

Wait till a gap in the head banging and then pick her up or distract/comfort her....but be careful not to do it when she's actually engaged in banging.

Secondly, don't give her cereal before bed....if she doesn't eat her dinner, offer that again before bed....if she's mashed it into oblivion, make a small plate up of something healthier such as grated cheese, cucumber and bread and butter or a bowl of pasta with a bit of cheese and salady bits.

Cereal isn't a great food to get into eating late at night... unless it's porridge.

Totally agree with Ajas. Being fussy is really normal at this age too. I definitely wouldn’t offer an alternative, she will never try anything new if she knows she can fill up on her favourites instead.

Baby signing helped mine with their frustrations, you should be able to get s book on it from your library. Instead of saying no repeatedly try saying we’ll do this and distract her with something else. Easier said than done though, especially if you’ve got an ultra headstrong one like me

My Child Won’t Eat should help with the food refusal