How do you react to a naughty baby?

[AvrilH]

My 8 month old DD has just learned to crawl. She goes directly to the few things she is not allowed to touch and cackles with glee as she touches them while looking around to see my reaction.

So far I have responded with "Ah Ah", picking her up and moving her elsewhere. She thinks this is a great game and goes directly back to the radiator. Obviously my response has had the opposite effect to the one intended. So what should we be doing?

Re radiators, I just turned the water temperature down so they weren't hot enough to burn. They were certainly hot enough to be surprising/uncomfortable, though, which is good if you want your daughter to learn that when you say 'hot!' that might not be a good thing.

phew, thanks theyoungvisitor, I needed that! (!)

Off now to actually do something with my day, now feeling suitably reassured.

Agree with mathanxiety. Unfortunately you do just have to keep moving them at this age, or move the things you don't want them to touch.

I agree with Bergentulip

waaaah, no-one agrees with me [huff]

Gah, I don't expect her to understand and obey - just to hopefully not find the forbidden things so much more exciting. To that end, I will make a treasure chest etc. I also want to start as I mean to go on - at some point in the next couple of years, she might get the message.

I don't actually smile at her. Though, the glee with which she laughs, because she knows she will get a reaction from me, makes it hard to supress a smile. On the plus side, I might finally lose the last of that baby weight, with all of this chasing her around.

I think I will also continue as I am doing for the sake of consistency.

The best lesson I ever learned was that sometimes you have to look LESS interested in the stuff you don't want them to do. Looking at it from a baby's perspective, if mum whoops and pulls faces and makes emphatic no sounds, there is so much more incentive to do it again than if there is no reaction from mum and you get a hot thumb or the cat cuffs you round the head or whatever.

best reaction is to not react.else it becomes a game-obviously that isnt always possible.distraction is another good one-she cant have the scissors but she can have stacking pots etc.

plus extra eyes for the back of your head and a few pairs of spare hands come in useful.

wow- all this agreement- I feel almost churlish for mentioning it in the first place

Thanks Belgo, glad you like the name -like yours too.