What do you do when your toddler tests you?

Question

My daughter is touching the volume knob on the stereo. She looks at me and laughs. I tell her no thank you calmly, I've tapped her hand and said no thank you. I've redirected her to her toys. But she keeps going back to the stereo touching and laughing. The stereo can't be moved to any where else. Please give me some ideas thank you.

Answer 1

I know this must be getting on your nerves, but your daughter needs you to be more firm with her. Catch her before she even gets to the stereo and point to the knob and tell her no. By all means, do not laugh with her. Turn her away from it and back to her toys. If she keeps trying to get there, pull her into another room and block that room off for a while. Consistency will be the key even though it may seem like it takes forever.

Answer 2

First off stop saying thank you after the "no" why do you do that?? You need to be very firm when telling her NO because otherwise they are not going to think you mean it and keep doing it. If slapping her hands doesn't work and you don't feel comfortible spanking her then try a time out for how ever old she is she can be in time out for that many minutes. Example if she is 1 she can be in time out for 1 minute and then you go up from there. I have a 1 1/2 year old boy who does those things and I slapped his hand and he would just laugh at me because I didn't want to hurt I did it more for shock factor and learned very quickly that if he doesn't cry he didn't learn. I hope this helped some good luck and remember be firm and stick to what you say so don't threaten her saying I am going to ---- and then don't do it .

Answer 3

That all depends on how old the child is, if she is still a baby just learning to walk I guess between the age of 1 - 2 there is not much you can do but keep up what you are all ready doing.
This is something that right now she really doesn't understand, to her it is a game and she is learning. I am a firm believer that once they come of the age of understanding which is usually around two then you can punish her for doing it like a time out and that is in a chair usually isolated from any toys like in the middle of the room and it is a minute for each year the child is.
As a young toddler she really doesn't have much of a memory for punishment and she will not understand in two minutes what it was she was in time out for.

Answer 4

Let her know in no uncertain terms that the stereo is off limits. When she makes a move towards it, you redirect her to her toys, which is a great first step. Now you have to let her have control over something. "The stereo is off-limits, so do you want to color with your crayons, or play with your dolls?" If (and it's a strong possibility) she resists, and has a one track mind for that stereo, you reiterate, firmly, "the stereo is off-limits. We can play with your toys, or have a snack." (Widen the choices, toddlers love to feel in control). If your daughter STILL has a mind for the stereo, she's probably feeling cranky or tired, and is acting out for the sake of acting out. Also, you might want to try to determine if she's misbehaving because she's tired, or wants attention from you. Most of the time that my 3 year old misbehaves, it's because it's very close to nap time or bed time.

Answer 5

Keep redirecting. She already knows you don't want her to touch it, so if you place her somewhere else without giving her the benefit of the reaction she wants, she will eventually get it. Hang in there, for the most part, she is at that age, and there's not a lot you can do. She will move from the stereo to something else that "pushes your buttons".

Answer 6

In this case, a swat on the thigh can work wonders. I don't mean hit her hard, but enough to get her attention and say NO in a firm voice. If that doesn't work, pull out the playpen and sit her in it whenever you're in that room until she gets the idea that touching the stereo is a no no. Kids are smarter than you think, and she knows it gets a rise out of you. If all else fails, unplug the stereo and the next time she does it and it doesn't come on she'll get mad but she'll get over it.

Answer 7

Say no firmly with a serious face, say it three times then move her away. If she's old enough it's time for the good old naughty step I think. 1 min for each year of their life so 2 mins if she's only two, but don't forget to warn her she will go on the naughty step if she continues. Even at a young age you need to explain when she starts doing something you don't like why it's dangerous or naughty.

Answer 8

when my son does things like that i just pick him up and sit him in the hall way and firmly say no, not lock him out there but just remove him from the situation, at first he might think its a game and laugh at me but after five or six goes at turning the t.v off and being put in the hall he realizes I'm more stubborn than him and he wont get away with it and theres much better things to do than have a paddy in the hall on your own! try that

Answer 9

Put her in a time out chair. Tell her she has to sit there until you say it's okay for her to get up, explain to her that it is not okay to be playing with the buttons. And if she tests you and goes to get up put her right back and tell her that you have to start the time over since she got up. Everytime she gets up start the time over, she'll end up being there longer than she didn't want to but she'll learn.

Answer 10

My mother used to pop me on the butt while saying "NO!" It didn't hurt, it made me feel bad like I had lost her respect. I didn't do it again. She must respect you. You ARE the boss of her and she needs to know it. A lot of love plus a little discipline go a long way. A touch of fear goes a LONG way. I only got like 5 spankings when I was a kid.