Disciplining a 9mo ??????

[LuckySalem]

Ok I'm probably being nuts here but how do I explain ask persuade STOP DD from doing stuff she shouldn't be doing?

She keeps trying to eat the cats biscuits or play with their litter tray or bang the door on our TV cabinet.
I've tried No - she laughs, I've tried distraction - she ignores, I've tried moving her away from the items - she crawls back.

I understand she's too young for the likes of the naughty chair etc but is there ANYTHING I can do or will I just have to be on edge till she's older. - If so when should I be disciplining her?

But YOU haven't moved the objects which is prob what you should be doing.

IMO that is what safety gates are for. To stop baby's getting their hands in the cat litter because they are developmentally too young to internalise what you have said and remember it a few moments later.

Discipline is for when they can hear you, understand you, remember what you said and then decide to act on it. And that doesn't happen at 9 months of age.

So you need cupboard locks, stair gates, shut doors, and to get rid of pot pourri/tableclothes/ornaments while at the same time you are moving toilet cleaners/toilet brushes, chemical cleaners from under the sink and alcohol from the bottom cupboards and shelves.

Good luck

you can;t discipline her, she is not mature enough to understand, therefore you have to move the cat biscuits , litter tray and move her away from things she is banging.

she is exploring everything and has no concept of danger so you have to be on your toes for now

sorry !

Agree with gagarin. At 9 months old the responsibility lies entirely, absolutely and 100% with you to remove things you prefer her not to have and steer her away from trouble.

Agree with gagarin. You need to baby proof your house.

Has this kicked off yet?

I used to just let my DD get on with it, never said no, just tried to make everything is as safe as possible ... once allowed to explore she was done with it. We don;t have cats, so not sure what I would've done with cat biscuits and litter tray though.

well - she can prob eat the cat biscuits with no harm being done.

Just leaves the cat litter....

i'm trying to eat my lunch...

...

As well as removing the things that she really shouldn't touch ie cat food and litter (barf) you need to remember that for her she isn't being naughty so doesn't need disciplining - she is exploring her environment which is how babies learn.

I tend to go with the "pick your battles" style of parenting - does it matter if she bangs the cupboard door, plays with the remote control and empties a cupboard of pots and pans? (I know you didn't list all of those, I'm just using them as examples.) I found with mine that if left them to explore to their hearts content (having removed access to the dangerous or undesirable of course) they banged/emptied/poked and then moved on to something else. By saying no or removing them you make the object more appealing!

It's not naughty so she doesn't need discipline. I don't know where your litter tray and cat food are kept but ours are in the bathroom and I have a stairgate on the door.

You need to do something sooner rather than later or it will drive you mad - my DS is 20m and still eats/tips over the cat food if he gets half a chance.

I can also confirm that cat food (the dry biscuit type) does actually make small children puke

We put the cat litter under teh stairs behind a grill of cut-out patterned MDF with a hole for the cats to go through. Their food and water was on a shelf above the litter. The problem with the cat stuff is that even after your own dc has lost interest, visiting dcs get into it. Stopped needing to do this when they all got to about 2 and understood 'no' (still had a few 'incidents' though).

We put another MDF grill over the DVD/SKY box, a baby lock on the cleaning stuff, and had stairgates. Everything else we just let her manhandle but kept an eye on her.

Disciplining a 9 mo old - you are right - is totally nuts.

Unfortunately I can't move the cat litter and biscuits. However I am now picking the bowls up and just giving it to them a few times a day (when DD is asleep) Litter - its a lidded box so all she's doing is playing with the "cat flap" type thing but I don't know if that's dangerous for her and can't think of anything to do with it as I can't take it out of the front room.

Cupboard is safe just annoying!! I can make do..

Feenie - Why would it kick off?

Sorry but a 9mo can't be disciplined, all you can do is either remove her or the object out of the way.

Annoying and very frustrating I realise but that's the joy of young children!

I don't mind if I shouldn't I just wasn't sure. Mum says just keep saying no when you move her but it wasn't working so I was just seeing whether it was meant to be working!! lol

I'll just work around her for now then. When should she know better though?

I agree with DragonJota.

Did you read my post? I'd say you're going to have this for at least another 2 years ...

I'd really try not to get her to touch the door of the litter tray - there's probably tiny bits of cat poo and wee on there.

Just keep repeating yourself. Boring I know

LOL - Ok 2 years?! Better strap my patience hat on cos it blows off easily!! lol

No chance and if you try it will turn into a game and she will do it more and more,

my 17month still finds it funny to do what I say not to in fact so does my 3 year old, though he gets it now, 12 year old listened to no for a few years but as teenage approaches he thinks that no is a threat to his independence, all over again!

sorry for that rant, safety proof house, but can start teaching 'no' but be really boring about it (for hot stuff etc) but dont expect a constient response for a couple of years at least!

Yes nooooooki - my ds laughs at me when I say no. The only thing that works is taking him away and giving him something else to do (getting a book out is usually a good distraction and we both enjoy it)

If part of the problem is that you can't remove everything dangerous and also have to do stuff ie can't strap her to you every second of the day, then get her a playpen that you can pop her in for the times when you are cooking/emptying litter tray/have to make a phone call.

LOL, I have a manic 9mo so this is all so familiar. I tend to let her get on with it whilst keeping a close eye. The more I try to say no, the more she giggles at me.

All I worry about though, is Metanium poisonous if eaten? One day she is going to chew right through that tube...