is it to early to start disaplining a 8mo's bad bahavior? and if not what are some gentle yet effective ways?

Question

my daughter is 8mo she is crawling now and gets into everything! i know its normal...but some things she does is very dangerous and scares me..i have gates up but some areas are impossible to child proof anymore then they are...can she be displined? would she even understand? heres a example of a few things shes done today that i thought she should be disaplined for but just didnt know how to go about it....she pulled down the hanging power strip today and it fell on her hand and when i removed her from the area she said hate dat, hate dat and kept screaming it over n over then i was trying to rest and read my book and she dumped pepsi all over my coffe table and all over the rug and all over herself and feet....then she slept in my room last night and this morning i woke up to find she pulled all my books off my bookshelf into her playpen and took my autographed colectable circus book and ripped it to shreds... that wasnt a cheap book..she tells me to shhh and pinches,plz help..ty

this is a comment for mightymight1957........you know what if you only have dumb negative crap to say dont you dare post it as a answer to my question! who do you think you are telling me i need parenting classes? and if you have never heard a 8mo baby say mumma or dadda or anything else you been around some neglected dumb little ones havnt you? my daughter has been saying little words since she was 4mo

Answer 1

Wow!! She seems to be very smart for her age. I don't remember my 4 or 2 yr old being able to tell me shh or be spiteful at a young age. She's obviously very smart which is good. When My girls reached the age of 6 mo. we started disciplinig by sayin no and we would pat her hand when we would say it. We firmly believe in discipline. U can pop them on their butts too while u say no too b/c they have a diaper on so its not like it really hurts them. When they get older we would even pop their thigh so they could feel it. I am on my third child andwe plan to do the same for her. I know alot of people like even my mother who feel its harsh or they don't know better but they do. And like I said she's smart. And if she's smart enough to tell u shh then she's smart enough to understand punishment. Alot of people think we r mean but yet they love how our children behave. We get complemented often and i'm not trying to brag I was just want to let u know that I really feel this works. I hope you find something that works for you. Good luck!!!!

Answer 2

she's how old? I don't know of an 8 month old that can scream hate dat, hate dat. dadadada, or even mamamama. If she's pulling a power strip down, you obviously have not childproofed your home. She should not be able to reach any power strips. A glass of pepsi should never have been left down where she could reach it. If you are going to fall asleep, or as you put it, rest and read, she should have been napping, or at the very least,been in the playpen. If she is in her playpen, how could she reach your books, unless you put the playpen right up against the bookshelf. I suggest you take some parenting classes, instead of worrying about discipline. You have a lot to learn about babies.

An 8 month old does say mama, and dada. An 8 month old usually doesn't reply in sentences, "hate dat". Tired of sending me nasty emails? Now you're posting nasty notes on your question? Is there a reason you felt the need to insist that you are a "grown woman"? Any parent who claims to have childproofed their home doesn't leave a power strip where a baby can reach it. OMG, ELECTRICITY!!! 8 months old is about the time when they start pulling themselves up on furniture. Quit blaming your child for things that you should have taken care of. You don't "rest" and leave your child crawling around without supervision. And if the only place to put the playpen is next to the bookcase, then move the books UP. this isn't rocket science, just common sense. I've raised 2 children, one with a master's degree in molecular microbiology, who is now a teacher, and the other currently in college, double majoring in business administration and culinary arts. I worked for years in a grade school, working with over 300 children from kindergarten to 5th grade. I was a Cub Scout leader and on the PTA. I have much experience with children of all ages. I will not argue with you any more, I can see that you just want someone to feel sorry for you and to tell you it's ok to "displine" your baby. By the way, NEVER hit a child, not even to SMACK their hands. This is ABUSE. I can't believe that parents are still doing this. There is no need.

Answer 3

I was doing the hand hitting and firm "no" at this age. Daddy was raising his voice. My daughter is 19 months old and very good.

Smack her hand, my mom says time out, but I don't know how to to that with a toddler that won't sit or an 8 month old.

But to help "baby proof" the house more, get on your hands a knees, everything YOU can touch assume SHE can touch! I didn't baby proof, I got the plastic outlet thing, close my bedroom, close the bathroom, and put a gate up to the living room. When she started crawling at 6 months I started to tell her no when she started walking at about 9 months I was already smacking her hand AND telling her no. By 10/11 months she knew what NOT to touch and what to touch. Babies understand, she is smarter then you think. I never "rested to read a book" while my daughter was around, only when she was asleep and her play pen sat in the MIDDLE of the room when she can't touch ANYTHING if I wanted a quick nap

Answer 4

It would take a long time for me to go into details of disciplining here but I HIGHLY reccomend a book that was very helpful to me and several of my friends called "To Train Up A Child" Michael and Debi pearl have, (i think) 8 wondeful children and grandchildren whose lives attest to the incredible disciplinary techniques employed by the Pearls'
Their Webiste is nogreaterjoy.org - just about any parenting topic for any age from birth- you will find an article with answers to your questions. I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful the 'Pearls' of wisdom I have received from this site were and the changes it has made in my family and children. It is NEVER too early to start.
Also- don't feel bad- all parents have times of feeling insecure - it is a challenge and every child is different. You do the best you can and as long as you are looking for help where you struggle, try to make the changes where you know they need to be made and most importantly love your child you are doing fine.
Discipline is neccessary though and you will need to really make a commitment to the techniques you decide to use and be consistant above everything else- it can be hard sometimes but a parent that does not discipline his child, hates his child.
You are on the right track- I highly reccomend To Train up a Child and check out the website- also for the future look for "Creative Correction" this is lighthearted but full of wisdom and great help in taking care of day to day correction issues.

Answer 5

You will always have to keep her away from something, you are right, not everything can be baby proofed. For things like the power strip, either block her way with something, or just keep pulling her away from it and tell her that's not for her to touch. It takes much repeating, and other than that, she is too young to "punish" for her actions. Right now you should be trying to teach her what is allowed and what isn't. Distracting her with something else is your best bet. Roll a ball or get out a toy or something to look at that she doesn't normally.

As for the Pepsi, that would be a situation where it shouldn't be within her reach, unless it is a capped bottle. So that one's not her fault...

As for the playpen and books, always make sure the playpen is pulled away from anything within her reach, also away from anything that may be hanging on the wall, in case it were to fall and harm her.

Like I said, I would concentrate more on teaching her instead of "disciplining" her right now. And either keep things out of reach that you don't want to take chances on, or keep a really good eye on her and try to have the patience to keep pulling her away from things you can't remove from her reach.

Answer 6

ohhh your is starting early the terrible two's. I have a 22 month old and he is into everything now. Everyone tells me to be consistent every time put him or her in time out since she is so young and probably wouldn't stay there I would put her in a crib or playpen and tell her what she is doing wrong. Hopefully she catches on and stops. The time outs in a playpen are good for you to you can go calm down over what your little angel has done today. Remember there only young once so give her kisses . Good luck!!!!

Answer 7

Discipline her! If you don't start now, she's going to get the idea in her head that she can walk all over you. Your best bet is to put her in her playpen or crib in time out. Just leave her in there and let her cry for awhile. A very firm "NO" is good too. That way you're letting her know who's in charge, but not smacking her. If she can "talk" then you will know if it's working or not to isolate her because she will let you know she "hate dat". You don't want to leave her alone too long. Usually about 2 mins of quiet time in her room/area alone is enough to get it through to her that you mean business. Another thing is you get a few mins to calm yourself down too.

Answer 8

No house can be completely child proofed. I would suggest moving the playpen away from anything she can reach over the side of it. Gently but firmly saying No No and taking what ever she has in her hands away from her may help. Children learn by the tone in our voice when giving discipline. If she know by the tone of your voice you mean business she will be less likely to do it again. Yelling never solves anything but a firm NO will do wonders.

Answer 9

If you don't want her to ruin things you value PUT THEM UP HIGH where she cannot get to them.

Lamps, Cord Plugs and other dangerous things AGAIN need to be kept out of babies reach.

When you CHILD PROOF YOUR HOME, do it on your hands & knees. That way you are at "HER" eye level and can "SEE what she sees.

I would IMMEDIATELY raise my tone of voice when she does someting wrong. A strong NO! Will and should get her attention.

BE CONSISTENT!!! That is the number one hardest thing to do. Keep reminding yourself that this is for HER own good AND for your sanity!

She should be sleeping in her own bed and not in yours with you. Especially if you are a heavy sleeper.

I always slapped my kids hands HARD when they got into something they shouldn't have. Works wonders. They get the hint sooner or later that the LOUD NO and HARD SLAP means I cannot have or touch!

Answer 10

if u don't already have one, buy a playard to be used for when u r doing things that will take away your sight from the baby. let her have her crawl time ONLY when u have the time to sit and watch her. as u can see she's very active and she's getting into everything. i know this will help u if u buy one. i don't think u can or should discipline a child who is only 8 months b/c i doubt a child that age understands. and plus it doesn't seem right at all.