The screeching, oh the screeching!

[3xMama]

Not entirely sure where this belongs. Not sure what the age cut off is between Life with a Babe and Toddlers, but I classify my DS1 as a toddler at 15mos so I'll start here! Might also fit into Gentle Discipline? Not sure...

Anyway, my 15mo has started screeching and screaming as loud as possible and as high pitched as possible. He does it when he's mad, when he's excited, when he's playing, just because he can...the only time he doesn't seem to do it is while he's asleep! Its driving me absolutely crazy! More than that, though, its making it extremely hard to get my newborn to sleep while DS1 is up and playing. Which makes DS2 (newborn) crankier, of course, and makes the battle that much harder and longer. Esp since DS1 continues to screech and it becomes a rather vicious cycle. Which ends up making me pretty cranky, not to mention the headaches I'm getting because of it.

How can I get my 15mo to stop screaming? Can I even get him to stop or is he just too young? He understands simple intrustions like "Give that to Mama" or "Go get Daddy!" but I'm not sure how to get him to understand to lower his voice.

[mamandedeux]

I find that having music on helps my 15 month-old screech less. Or maybe I just notice the screeching less. Regardless, I have the radio on a classical station on all day. When he starts screeching and I can't figure out why (he mostly does it when he's frustrated - I can usually help him and he'll stop and switch back to babbling...), I tell him to listen to the music and then I hum along. He usually will stop and start dancing or humming. Worth a try!

[Frankie'sMom]

My kid was super screechy until recently, starting when he was about 16 months.  He's 20 months now. He was a blood-curdling screamer.   We tried to ignore it (which is hard, especially in the car) or "shhhh" him and tell him about inside voices.  It is much better now.  You might just have to wait it out, be consistent and patient - like most unpleasant behavior, I am discovering.