How do I punish my one year old?

Question

Every time my son plays up by hitting, biting or things like that I tell him off but I can't find a way to punish him. Eg if he bites and i tell him off, he just ignores me and carries on playing, or if i bite him back he laughs, if I put him in his cot, he plays. There is just no way to tell him he is doing wrong. ANyone got any ideas?

Answer 1

Ignore his behaviour. As you have probably noticed he is getting attention everytime he carries out this behaviour, even if it is negative attention (biting him back, being put in his cot). By ignoring him he will soon get bored and realise he will not get attention for this behaviour and will eventually stop!!

Answer 2

You don't! Biting, at this age, is just part of the 'oral' stage. It's what they do. Pulling away sharply and saying 'Ow, NO that hurts! is enough - pretty soon he' ll realise that people are not like toys, which don't mind being chewed and never bite back! Ditto hitting - probably just trying to get a reaction. Just enjoy him - he'll grow up soon enough. You could try giving him a wooden spoon or something to bite on, each tim he bites. He may be discovering his new teeth. The reason he just bites you is that at this age they are only just learning where they end and another person begins - he sees you above all others as part of himself.

Answer 3

Sally F - riptidesareblue has the right idea. A one year old needs a consistent, non-corporal, punishment. If you take him someplace he cannot play (kitchen floor, hallway, etc.) and you sit him down and say firmly but calmly "no biting, biting hurts". If he tries to get up, pick him up and set him back down and do this for 2-3 min and then do it EVERY time he bites. This does not happen with all kids, but if you punish them by putting them to bed, they may develop problems with bed time (thinking they are being bad). This is just some kids.

Good Luck!!!

Answer 4

Biting back only sends mixed messages to a one year old that it is okay behaviour, "punishment" has to be carefully thought through to make a difference, not make matters worse. Reward at that age may be a good incentive, reward all good behaviour in some way and try to ignore bad behaviours, distract him from it and go do something else without making a big deal of the naughty stuff. Sure it is easier said than done, bet the wee darling will grow out of it,persevere and good luck !!.

Answer 5

You need to keep his attention. If he ignores you then you pick him up. Make him pay attention to you. Make him unavailable to distractions. Take him into the kitchen or the bathroom and set him in a chair facing you and make him sit there for say five minutes. You don't have to talk to him the whole time but he can not get out of the chair and he can not play.

It may not work of course and it may not be your favorite answer and that's ok. It's just an idea. The important thing is, whatever you choose to do, you need to keep doing it. Children need consistency. They need to know if they touch the stove it will hurt. They need to know if they bite it will be the same reaction from mom as the last time and I don't want that so I am not going to bite. Once you find what works, stick with it.

Good luck!

Answer 6

DO NOT BITE BACK !!! That just confirms to him, biting is OK. If he plays up, I would put him in a playpen, or some other safe place and leave him to it.
He needs to learn, things like that are not OK and if he wants to be close to you, he needs to stop doing such stuff.
So, if he hits, bites etc. make sure he knows you don't like it and put him into the cot, playpen etc. very quickly. Walk away!
Leave him a few minutes and go back. The trick is to do this EVERY TIME he behaves like that!

Answer 7

A naughty spot. The bottom stair in your house will be fine. 1 minute for each year of the childs life. There must be no toys on the naughty spot and as hes only one you will probably have to stay there with him and spend that minute telling him off. Just one minute to slow him down.

Another idea is that when he does it, sit there and cry and see if he comes to you to try to figure what is wrong. Or cry until he does come to you to try to figure what is wrong. It might knock it out of him if he knows he's not getting any attention. Also crying's a language that he can understand. Sounds a bit weird I know but give it a go!

Answer 8

When you see your child about to bite or hit distract his attention. Say something like lets not bite let's play w/ this block instead. If he still bites or hits, tell him it makes you sad when he bites or hits. When all else fells try a time out, but remember a child should not sit in time out longer than their age. For example a one year old should not sit in time out longer than one minute. And as stated above....be consistent in whatever method you choose.

Answer 9

I have a 16 month old daughter and she only bit me once. I popped her, not hard, but she got the message. As far as hitting....Tell him no it's not nice and whenever he does it put him in timeout. No toys, just him. Some people say 1 is too young to punish a child but My daughter use to hit a lot and now it's rare that she does.

Answer 10

You should ignore him completely,(obviously unless he is doing something dangerous). At that age he is looking for any sort of reaction and doesn't distinguish from a good reaction or a bad one when you tell him off. He is just happy that whatever he is doing has provoked a response from you. So just ignore him and eventually he will get bored and give up. This is easier said than done but persevere and you should get good results.