Ignore v. No

[richzep]

I guess this is sort of a follow up to jbdamonm 's question.

There are a lot of things that DS (14 months) does, that I ignore so that he'll stop.  This includes pulling on a plant, reaching for a cord, pulling on the blinds, etc.  Things that I know he is doing for attention, that I'm not giving in to.  He eventually stops.

Where I'm having difficulty with this is teaching him that if I say no, he needs to stop.  I feel like ignoring him to not give it attention isn't actually teaching him that no means stop.  

Is this a battle that's not appropriate at his age? I would hate to be at a friends house and he does something like that, I say no and he looks at me like I'm crazy.  Or worse, for me to ignore it and have my friend secretly hate me for letting LO mess up her house while I watch.

Any insight?

[leahb12]

Redirect, redirect, redirect. That's what it's about at that age. "Let's not pull on the blinds. Let's go build a block tower instead." Then I would guide him away from the blinds and lead him to something else. I also tell my kids no though, especially in situations that could be dangerous. Again, I redirect after telling them and then lots of praise for playing with their toys and good behavior.

[Deleted]

I agree with redirecting them! Mine either laugh when I say no, ignore me, or pitch a fit, unless I redirect them to something else. What I ignore is stuff like when they scream for no reason, hoping they'll see that they are not getting a reaction and stop.

[kaf7]

I agree with above. I also learned to use "stop" for danger situations. It is different enough that he doesn't get used to it. I also am usually pretty stern when I say it so he usually does stop (at this age...at 14m it is mostly about redirection for sure).

[chiwifey]

I agree with redirection especially at that age and use wording like leahb12 when I do. Explaining what they can't do and showing them what they can.

[bellalou]

Agree with all PP. It's all you can do.

[richzep]

This is going to be my goal for today. Redirect!

[christina]

Depending on what she is doing we either ignore, redirect, or put her down for a nap. I've found that she likes to get into things she shouldn't when she's overtired.

[richzep]

It's only 9 am and it's been a major fail.
"No" when he threw his plate of food on the floor.
"No" when he reached for a plug.
"Hey" when he almost stuck his hand in the toilet.
One louder than the next. :/

You kind of have to be in a good mood to be a good parent. Sleep deprived doesn't go well with patient parenting.
And I didn't realize I did this so much until I forced myself to be aware of it.

Sigh. We keep trying.

[Deleted]

I think a lot depends on the kid too. We say "no" w S bc she typically doesn't get into things. We don't have to redirect w her. We tell her no touching and she listens. If she doesn't she gets a timeout...then she doesn't go back to whatever she was doing before by her own choice. I don't think we'll be so lucky this next time around. Anyway, i say try no, redirect and ignore to see what works best in each scenario.