[Anna'sMommy]

OK I have a precious very active 7 month old little girl who is ALL over the place. She just discovered crawling and wants to crawl everywhere! That is fine but the problem is that she wants to touch EVERYTHING like wires, remote controls, things on the coffee table, etc. and she wants to put them all in her mouth. She even likes to put the furniture in her mouth! Now I know that the easy solution would be to just move everything and I have moved as much as I can but there are some things that I just can't move and I do whant her to learn that there are just some things in the house that she can't touch. How do I teach her this? I tell her no when she touches something she is not supposed to but she smiles at me. She doesn't understand no yet. She thinks I am playing with her. I have a friend who said I should say no and squeeze her hand. I am just not sure what to do. I don't want to hit her or anything like that but I don't want a brat on my hands either. What should I do? How do you teach a 7 month old there are things you can't touch? HELP? Any suggestions?

 

[USAmma]

Karen my dd started crawling at 5.5 mos. old so I can relate! She would not sit still and her crawl was more like a gallop. Was into everything.

At that age the best you can do is childproof. She is too young to understand not to go near stuff. That comes in a few more months but even then their impulse control is so strong they don't always leave it alone even if they know better.

For wires and stuff, see if you can hide the majority of them behind furniture. You can also get some special u-shaped nails and tack them down to the baseboards if you are unable to move that item.

We actually stripped our livingroom/bedroom bare during her early mobile months. We moved our barstools to the garage for almost a year because she was climbing on them and one fell over. We removed our coffee table because it has sharp corners, and I put all my large potted plants outside or in another room. Put baby latches on all but the cabinets I didn't mind her getting into. Even put them on some of the dresser drawers after she was trying to take the drawers out and climb them like stairs! Yikes! Emptied our bookshelves on the lower levels and put her toys there instead. Put any cleaning chemicals that were under our cabinets, as well as shampoo and things, out in the garage or behind latched doors. Put our bed on the floor, etc. etc.

Your baby will NOT be a brat if you don't set limits yet. Like I said she just won't understand, she'll just think you are hurting her and not always connect the two. The only discipline I did with my dd at that age was if she slapped me in the face I would put her down and walk away for a minute. She learned, but was necessary. Imposing too many rules will make her not so confident. Try to make it a "yes" environment.

The only time I taught my dd something was at 12 mos. we stayed with my IL's in India for 2.5 mos. They put us in a room with a large bed and marble floor. We had to keep the bed up for pest reasons, and although they provided us a crib for her she's never had one and didn't take to it at all. So for 2-3 nights if she crawled to the edge of the bed I would immediately place her back in the center. Took about 15 min. of doing that and her getting very frustrated to learn to stay away from the edge of the bed. It was a real pain to teach her and I can't imagine trying to do that for everything in the house, esp. at 7 mos. old.

The real discipline comes much later. Dr. Sear's Discipline Book is a good one! But he doesn't even talk about disciplining young babies except to teach them not to bite mom's breast. He said discipline starts at birth, and the infant period is spent building up the foundation of trust and love that will see you through the toddler years into teen years. So for now just love her and keep that bond strong.

Darshani

 

[Peppermint]

Re-direct. You take her away from things she shouldn't touch and give her something she can. Let me tell you, this can be trying, but like all things AP, it is worth it, she will not become a brat, I assure you

Now I have noticed on this board many different schools of thought on babyproofing. I will tell you my theory, and let others share the "other side"

I babyproof as much as I possibly can. I have created a "yes" environment, which has been best for my family. I do not have to be on my kids about what they cannot touch ,all cords and outlets are hidden by furniture, nicknacks are up out of reach,the lower kitchen cupboards have pots and pans and tupperware. I like having my house set up in a way that my kids are free to roam safely.

I really do not think there is any way to teach (nor is it a realistic expectation) a child of 7 months that they can't touch this or that, and have them remember that.

I think a child that age will not understand the hand squeezing at all, and will only think, "why is she hurting me?". As I say, all things AP or GD can be challenging and are not always the easiest way to go, but eventually you will see that your child will learn what she can/cannot touch, and she will not be afraid of you from the process. It can be hard work this parenting stuff

but hang in there, the best is yet to come

 

[boobykinmamma]

Ditto everything said in the above two posts! Get all dangerous/breakable objects out of the way and have fun watching her discover and explore!

 

[faythe]

Another ditto on the baby-proofing. Dh and I put every loose item way up high or in a locked drawer. It's easier to have a room(s) where they are free to explore and play. Some things are impossible to baby-proof, and that's when I redirect. At this point our living room, dining room and the girls' room is their "territory" (and it's clearly marked by their toys, LOL!).

I like the magnetic tot locks, they are the only ones my toddlers haven't been able to undo and they are still going strong, while the plastic ones seem to be wearing out.

You're right at 7 months your baby doesn't understand why you don't want her to do some things. You can redirect, but at this age it's just easier to remove the tempation. I didn't see a real understanding in my girls until after 12 months and it wasn't until nearly 24 months that they seemed to grasp the idea of consequences.

 

[happy_mama35]

My DD is not quite 7mo and has been crawling and getting around for at least the last month. I'm learning how to adjust her environment for her learning pleasure and safety. There are still things DH & I need to do ... we have plans to get some of that done this weekend.

One thing I've found helpful if DD keeps heading back to the same area of temptation (such as carpet edge that she loves to pick at) -- I do offer her other things to explore, but I explore them with her. I find interaction is the best distraction.

Good luck and enjoy your DD!

 

[Anna'sMommy]

Thanks so much for all of your wonderful replies ladies! You all have made me feel so much better and I totally agree with what you are all saying. I think my DD is too young to understand disciplineand there is no way I want to squeeze her hand or say no all the time. It breaks my heart to think that if I squeezed her ahnd DD would be wondering why mommy was hurting her. I appreciate all of your advice. DH and I are going to babyproof the house this weekend! Thank you all of your responses! Hugs!

 

[Piglet68]

I wanted to agree with everyone else's suggestions, and just add one more thing.

It does come in handy to teach your children the word "no", but I say this with two caveats. First, the more "yes" you can make your environment, the better. So ITA with babyproofing everything you can. Second, the only way to teach them is to show them and repeat again and again and again. Unfortunately, that means following them around (when out and about in non-baby friendly areas) or when they are near a place in your home that just can't be babyproofed, go to them and tell them "no" gently while *showing* them what no means.

It takes time and patience and energy (something I'm sure we are all short on from time to time) but it is worth it, IMO. Now when I say "NO" my DD stops what she's doing immediately and looks at me - comes in handy in potentially dangerous situations.

Moving this to Life With a Babe...

 

[springbabes]

I agree with what Piglet said about the word "no." Saying "no" and redirecting your baby to something else is a very effective way of teaching her where it is appropriate to play. They catch on very quickly. I think children need to know the meaning of the word "no" both to avert them from dangerous situations and to empower them--yes, "no" is usually one of a toddler's first words and that's ok. A child needs to be able to say "no" to stand up for themselves.

And about the hand-holding--I had a friend who used to slap her baby's hand whenever he would touch something he wasn't supposed to. Besides being a cruel thing to do, it just isn't effective. I babysat him a couple of times and I had the hardest time keeping him out stuff. Saying "no" and redirecting him did nothing! I really think the only way he'd stop was if you slapped him because that is how she had trained him.

 

[pumpkinhead]

SOmething i found to be useful was, when I said 'no' to something, I, in turn, said 'yes' to something else. For example "No, you can't eat the T.V. remote", but "Yes you can play with Mama's hair", "No, you can't touch the electrical wires, but YES, you can play with the pots and pans".

I agree with all of the other posters. Great advice! I too have an early crawler and initially thought I'd like to teach him not to touch certian things. It will work in time, but while they're too little to really grasp the concept of 'no', it just keeps Mama on her toes A LOT more. Much easier to babyproof until they're old enough to understand the concept of 'no' AND (a big AND

) have the ability to OBEY it

.