15mth old hit terrible twos??!!

[manna]

my lovely ds, 15mths, is really driving me potty. I know it's developmental, but I thought it would come a bit later. climbing onto everything, dancing on the table and singing, emptying every cupboard, bookshelf etc. The house is pretty childproof, and it's only the dangerous stunts I'm worried about, not damage to our stuff. however, tell him NO repeatedly & firmly and he'll go back again & again. remove him & he'll have a hissy fit. Distraction does work, but I feel rather weary of coming up with new things every 5 mins. And I'm really bored of hearing myself saying NO all the time, I try not to have too many no's usually, only to dangerous things. He's always been active, but now he's really pushing the boundaries. My problem is that he's too young to reason with, unlike a two year old who may be able to reason (?) a little more. He has good language skills and can understand nearly everything and make himself understood with words, grunts and gestures. How long does this stage last? Any top tips for stopping him driving me mad?

Mine's still doing it at 19 months! I have found that having another set of eyes implanted in the back of your head helps

Manna - I wish my two year old could understand reason !! He started his 'terrible twos' around 18 months and it's not getting any easier! Lots of sympathy, no advice I'm afraid - I'm always looking for help myself!

I had been thinking about posting this question myself. Ds is nearly 15 months and sounds very similar to yours. I don't really know what to do, my only solution is to get him out of the house (to swimming classes, music lessons, toddler groups, playgrounds etc.) as much as possible. This way we avoid much of the conflict and he gets worn out. Hope someone else has some more ideas!

My DS is 19 months - he hasn't really been a big problem as yet. I am still waiting for the terrible twos to hit big time. However he does have his moments !

I try and avoid "no" and try and explain why I want him to do certain things ie: "don't pull that because if you do it will fall on you". Even if he can't understand you yet you will get into the habit and you never know he might suprise you - I am always amazed at how much my DS understands.

How long to the terrible twos last? Well my DS1 is 4 in april and he's still a little bleeder at times.......and DH is 29

DS is 17 months and just like this. Like gingernut says take them out a lot - wish the weather was better! Ho Hum! (Chinchilla, if all this evolution stuff is true how come pregnancy doesn't cause mothers to evolve an extra pair of arms, superhuman strength and eyes in the backs of their heads?)

If anyone has any good suggestions to keep a 17 month old entertained during rainy weather, I really appreciate them as we just about to hit the rainy season!

DD started at 1 and began to come out of it at 4 and a half. At 6 she is now a delight most of the time and a little devil some of the time

My ds definitely regards my saying 'no' as a game most of the time - so I really try not to. I tend to say it once, either remove whatever it is I don't want him to touch (cat litter box, actually) or him from the object if it's too big to move, and then walk away without looking at him. This seems marginally more successful, otherwise I would be saying no endlessly over the same issue. He is just testing your reactions to make sure the same thing happens every time. Without a reaction he'll probably get bored - and move onto something else!!

Gotta laugh, really! My mum babysat for a couple of hours yesterday over bedtime. He loves both my parents, and was full of glee when they arrived at 6.30pm. He didn't even notice when we left (so much for separation anxiety) and ran round the room pointing at everything he wasn't allowed to do, and saying 'no, no!' while wagging his finger He then proceeded to do everything he wasn't allowed to do, quickly, while he had the chance! My mum was in stitches. Then bedtime was announced, he ran shaking his head firmly and saying 'no, no!' and hid under a chair - he, he If he carries on being this amusing I may get through it yet.

Good point about gettting them out as much as possible - i think boredom plays a part in this kind of behaviour too.

My ds thinks he's called 'NO!', he hears it so often

Well in that case my DS must think I'm called "No" because its all he ever says to me.

They're all different; dd1 never had the terrible twos at that age; ds1 just for a little bit; ds2 at 18 mths but ds3 holds the record at 15 months. Sounds so like your little one, manna. And he does do it all with a big beam on his face - I'm sure he knows how irritating he is being - so I have to be the consummate actress and not smile at all which can be hard sometimes. I do the same as aloha. A no once or possibly twice, then remove whatever is causing the problem. I've also got the lounge with a gate on the door so if he is being naughty in the lounge I bring him into the kitchen with me and shut him out of the lounge and vice versa. When he gets a bit older if he's being really naughty I will put him in his cot for a short while (5-10 mins) just to give me a break! My ds2 has finally grown out of the terrible twos and he is 3 and a half. My dd1 on the other hand started the terrible twos when she started school and hasn't stopped yet - just turned 7. aaarrgh!!

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