how do you teach a baby the meaning of NO??!!?

Question

my baby is nine months old

Answer 1

You are a father. You are at the bottom of the pecking order. It is probably why in the old days the men used to go out and leave the women and bairns alone, so they could make out they were the head of the household.

Well each child is individual, and as the father, it will have half your genes. Yes, I know it's half the genes you don't recognise you've got. Anyway the reason for making that point is that you are the best authority on bringing up your own kid.

In the first year, don't worry about being over tolerant. You should be more concerned about keeping it in a safe enviroment rather than having to say 'NO'

We usually say 'No' so often to our kids that when they say 'No' back to us, we know they are speaking with intelligence.

If you keep danger away from the kid, so all you have to worry about is your own personal comfort, like having your hair pulled, your eyes poked out and your facial orifices probed.

In general consistency works. If you know that 'no' means 'no' and doesn't mean anything but 'no' then trust yourself to find a way to convey that to your child.

From what I recall I used the following words
'NO'
'LEAVE'
and the Welsh 'Achu Vu' but not being Welsh we just said 'ackee' and pulled the most horrible face, to show that the object of her exploration was dirty and disgusting and completely unworthy of her attention, with the appropriate removal of either her or the object, depending on circumstance.

Try also to be positive, to direct your baby towards what it ought to be doing, rather than what it shouldn't. Your main concern should be on the emotional security of the mother and child. I think if you have that sorted out, everything else will fall into place.

Answer 2

how do you teach a baby the meaning of any word. Repetition in the situation. If he is doing something you do not want him doing, you say NO and move him away from the situation. YOU DO NOT HIT, He doesn't have the abstract thinking skills to associate the word with the action at nine months., so picking him up and moving to another area is JUST as effective.

Also save you NO for important things, if he is messing up the magazines on the coffee table, he isn't hurting anything, isn't doing anything dangerous, and should be allowed to explore the magazines. You can straighten them when he takes a nap or goes to bed.

And tell him, Magazines, or books or paper and he will learn what those words mean too.

Answer 3

Slap it!.......Joke!
But, that seems to me is what some of our American cousins here on UK yahoo will say when it comes to disciplining your children.
Nothing wrong with spanking? Something wrong with a parent who can't find a non-violent alternative in my view.
Thankfully no-one so far has suggested that and I hope it bucks the trend but I'm saddened by the number of people advocating spanking on the forum lately.
I was spanked (beaten) as a child and it hurt me for life and did no good whatsoever.
As for the answer. Well, if it's a dangerous situation then a quick removal and making no a fun word with a game might help but otherwise just say it firm and clear, threaten to remove a privilege or security toy if it's not followed through and mean it.
Hope you do ok. Thing is, they're all individual little buggers at the end of the day and what works for one might not for another.

Answer 4

Say no and ignore their protestations.
Say no and remove the thing that they might be trying to get (out of sight out of mind at that age!)
Say no then distract with something more attuned to a 9 month old. They are very easily directed to something new at that age.

What is it that they're getting up to anyway? There's not much they can be doing unless they're crawling/walking, in which case it's up to you to make sure that there's nothing within their reach that you don't want them to be touching. They have no concept of actions and concequences at that age. They are programmed to learn via investigation.
My youngest was walking at 9 months so it was a case of clear away most things with a few things left that I didn't mind him touching.
Not easy but be patient and word association of an unacceptable action followed by 'aa-aa!!' or 'no' will be learnt when the penny drops for them!

Answer 5

Baby's understand "tone" just fine. Use a firm voice and say "NO". Not yelling, just a firm voice, then redirect them. You could also say "NO" followed by clapping your hands together once to get their attention. Really though @ 9 months your not going to work miracles, lol. You'll be doing the redirection thing over and over again. I am sure you know this, but I wouldn't use any form of spanking at this age. It's more about baby proofing, and redirection.


Edit: agree with Biz

Answer 6

I have a nasty sound I make as a warning: AAaah-aaah or uh,uh. Just hearing that sound stopped my kids in their tracks. It even works on the cat.

I don't agree that your baby is too young to understand. I think he will. Until then, keep reinforcing NO. He'll get the idea. He probably already has, and is ignoring you!!

TX Mom
just a mm

Answer 7

Your child will not understand it until about 15 months or so. You would just say NO then remove the bad object or move them from the bad situation.

If they are hitting you grab their hand in mid swing and you say NO HIT! or NO BITE!

At this age it's best to move onto distraction. Say NO about one thing, then hand them something else. Only bad hitting or biting should result in a 1-2min timeout.

Answer 8

by your an eager beaver aint you? I wouldn't expect too much from this age just yet!! A baby of this age is just beginning to explore their surroundings so how can you teach a baby of 9MTHS the meaning of NO? That is damn right mean!!

Answer 9

There's a fine art required - it's the look, and the tone of voice used. They may not understand No right away, but it's instantly clear they've done something you don't approve of. They'll figure it out.

Answer 10

you dont, u make sure the baby is in a safe, secure area where you do not need to say 'no' to them. they do not understand it until about 18months. my son is 17months and is just starting to know certain things he cant have/touch although he forgets a lot of the time.
at 9months, your baby is far to young to be in situations whereby you have to say no!!