Tactics for 14mo 'testing boundaries'?

[LittlePeopleCo]

My 14mo DD has started to test her boundaries with me and I'm looking for tactics/techniques to try to deal with her behaviour.

She is still too young for using a naughty step (not quite standing yet, late crawler etc) but just saying 'no' in a firm voice isn't doing the trick any more.

I'm not looking for a strict regime or anything but she often knows when she shouldn't be doing something, giving me 'the look' as she does it, so I'd like to be able to do something to reinforce the 'no' message.

Any ideas?

Distraction. You can still say no firmly but honestly, with a 14mo distraction is the best option.

ignore as far as possible. paying attention to anything naughty makes it 100 times more likely to continue happening at that age.
and distraction works too

no point disciplining - save your energy for the terrible twos and threes

I have a 14 month old too LittlePeopleCo - she is also testing the boundaries. I give her a firm "No" and give her the chance to stop herself (where appropriate) and if she continues then I say "no" again move her away from whatever she is doing and distract her with something else as SOH suggests.

ditto - 15 mo here - knows what 'no' means, stops, does it again, 'no', smirks at you, does it anyway. Key offences currently: pressing buttons on cooker/pellet stove/fiddling with sockets/throwing utensils or food out of high chair/standing up in armchair. Always distract after failed attempts at 'no'

Driving "knows what 'no' means, stops, does it again, 'no', smirks at you, does it anyway" That is exactly what she is doing and its the smirk really gets me!!

Have tried distraction but she seems so strong willed that she rarely goes for it, will just have to persevere.

Feels like we are in a lull between baby stage and toddler stage and she is old enough to know what is naughty (have been doing 'no' and a firm hand gesture for ages so she really does get it now) but not old enough to have a proper consequence.

LIttlePeople - I do worry about it all really - but it's very hard to set boundaries for them when they can't understand the relationship between actions and consequences. Virtually all mine concern safety really - and things that are really infuriating (like grabbing my hair when I am cleaning up the muck under her chair!). She has got 'hot' now, but applies it rather widely.

Distraction works quite well for us - problem is that it also means that you have to stop whatever household chore you were failing yet again trying to do

Driving Yes, mine are all safety related too, either hers or other babies she is with.

So far we are working on hot, dangerous, and gentle. I think she is slowly getting there but it is slow work but I hope it will be worthwhile.

Its really the smirk thats gets me though, I just don't like that in this lull period, as I described it before, she will be smirking and thinking she is getting away with murder! I'm so keen for her to have clear and consistent boundaries that I wish there was something more I could do, but perhaps I need to remember she is too young??

I remember leaning in and saying a firm 'NO' accompanied with wagging finger and she just laughed and did it straight back to me! It was the fact that she had the voice/tone down to a tee that got me, then she went round telling off Daddy, the dog, Grandad for the next three days in my voice. Felt a right fool!

It is hard to remember sometimes that they dont MEAN to take the p---

For proper bad offences (biting/hitting - mine is almost 17 mo) I sit her firmly down on the floor, say NO, and walk away a few metres. She never comes after me, just sits and cries until I hold out my arms and say ok, let's have a hug and be friends, I love you.

So she does know, and her sitting and crying (she walks now but this was when she crawled too) indicates that to me. But removing myself from her for a minute (literally a minute) is the most enforcing thing I can do, because I'm pretty much her world.