How to deal with an 18 month old child who loves to scream! constantly for no reason?

Answer 1

My 15 month old son is doing the same. It is a developmental stage of communication. Basically, your child and mine are trying to tell us something, but they don't have the vocabulary to verbalize this something. Most of the time, it is just for plain ol' attention. When you notice this trend, ignore that and reward the more positive ways your child is communicating. This will hopefully pass soon, as I am running of ear drum tolerance for the high pitch scream of my son. (My 5 year old did the same for about a 2-3 week span. Until the rewarding the good and ignoring the bad took effect.)

Answer 2

Picture yourself in the baby's position. How can you communicate then?

Are you sure that there is no reason? Perhaps check with a doctor. Healthy and comfortable baby's don't cry all the time.

Unless they were neglected before, or misunderstood. After you checked everything possible, hold your baby to sleep. Calm it down. Everybody needs love, especially such a small child.

If you have enough patience, this behaviour will stop.

My baby only required 6 hours sleep per day, and I needed 10. She was over active and the only way I could cope was with patience and love.

Answer 3

I would have to ask, is this the only behavior? Are there any other behaviors that are concerning you (lack of eye contact, affection, etc). If there are other concerns, I would look into having your child evaluated, this could be a sign of autism. If there are no other concerning behaviors, I would agree with previous advice. IGNORE IT. If your child screams and you rush to assist, he/she has just learned screaming=attention from mom/dad, greatly increasing the behavior. You will most likely see a dramatic increase in the screaming as your child will not understand why you arent responding as he or she "trained" you to respond. Then it will taper off. FYI- I am a behavior therapist.

Answer 4

First, you've determined it's for no reason, so it's not hunger, etc. Maybe it's attention being sought. So smile (make your face do it- it raises the endorphins and helps you relax), face the child and talk. "Boy, that's loud-what's up? Can I scream , too? Will a hug help?" I'd suggest hug first, then scream if you need to. But if you've been making yourself smile, it should help you stay focused. The important thing is not to panic. Good luck!

Answer 5

Positive reinforcement.. Praise them when they are doing something good.. Don't give them attention for the screaming. Your toddler is only looking for attention (good or bad they dont care) and the more positive responses he or she gets for the little things the less screaming there will be..

Answer 6

Attention is attention. Good or bad. Screaming gets attention. Ignore the child and they will stop doing it.

Answer 7

try smacking it in the mouth, or putting your hand over its mouth so that it cannot scream anymore. there is no reason for you to allow that sort of behaviour. do us all a favor and stop it now before the rest of us have yet another product of the "ignore it and it'll stop" generation to deal with. it's more than obvious that letting them keep at it has gotten them--and all of us--nowhere. hell, i'll even come over and smack the kid for ya, no charge. call me a good citizen, just doing my part for the betterment of society...

Answer 8

Tell them no, and make them stop. Teach them a different way to interact with their world, or to get attention,. Such as using words, and an indoor voice. Just dont let them.

We never did. Its amazing what a child wont do if its not allowed to.

Answer 9

IGNORE IT! I know that it's hard, but (s)he is doing it for the attention...are you talking about that high pitched scream that would deafen a dog?
My daughter stopped doing it when she realised there was no reaction from mummy and daddy.

Answer 10

Screaming in a happy manner...or screaming like something is worng..please secify..there are many reasons why babies scream.