Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
veggie0420
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question about teeth and time out
veggie0420
member
ds has 4 bottom teeth and 1 top tooth, and the other day started grinding them together randomly-i dont imagine this is good for them, but not sure how to make him stop.
when i need to put him in time-out, im not sure where to do it. for example, i dont want to sit him in his crib for it, because im afraid he will think that he did something wrong when its time for bed or naps. i thought about his playpen, but we are traveling soo and will be using that as his crib. any other thoughts?! thank you!
TTC since 9-5-09 BFP #1 7-19-10 missed m/c 9-3-10
BFP #2 1-12-11 stick baby! BFP #3 9-13-14. First u/s 10-10-14 TWINS!!
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Re: question about teeth and time out
The teeth grinding is common, it was a sort phase for both my girls.
I'm not sure how old your LO is, but personally I don't think time outs are effective until after 2 years old. Communication and understanding is better at 2 to explain why they need to have a TO. Redirection works great until 2 and while you're redirecting you can do some simple explanations of why you are taking them away from the situation.
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The teeth grinding phase lasted a few months with my oldest and maybe a week with my youngest.
I agree with PP about not doing timeouts before 2. Before that most kids don't "get" time out and it won't be effective. With DD2, we redirect or remove her from the situation if necessary. We do time outs with DD1, but we didn't start until she was over 2 and able to tell us why she was getting a time out. At that point we felt they could be effective.
DD1 Feb 2010
DD2 Sept 2011
DD has done that terrible grinding thing off and on since she was around 12 mo. The best thing to do is not react and redirect. THey'll grow out of it.
When your DS is doing that it's because he wants your attention. Tell him that you won't let him do X (I won't let you touch the cords because they're dangerous and I don't want you to get hurt) and then redirect. That's all you can do at this age. They really really wouldn't get a time out.
DD was a teeth grinder for a week or so. We figured she just liked the new sound she could make. Every time she did it I'd tell her "Oh don't grind your teeth" and pop something in her mouth. Either a chewy toy, her blanket, a snack, a sippy etc. She stopped within a week.
She is about 16 months old now. We haven't done timeouts yet but I think when we do we'll either use a small rug or her little dora step stool. I wouldn't use the crib or pNp since your LO will sleep there. I don't necessarily think there's a specific age it's more of an understanding milestone. So far repetition works really well for us. If she's not supposed to touch something we practice "no touch" or "not for DD" and she's shake her head and say no most of the time. Staying consistent and doing things over and over is what's working now. I'll reexamine other possibility when something different is needed.
Nope, sorry. TOs in it's true form is to punish a child for their behavior and to provide them with a place to cool down and reflect on what they did wrong. Ultimately the child is suppose to realize their wrongdoing and learn from their mistakes. At 16 months a child is not developmentally able to benefit from a true TO. A parent can fool themselves into believing that their child really REALLY gets it but they really don't. You will find that in another day, week, or even month they'll just repeat that same behavior they supposedly learned from when placed in a TO.
At the moment we don't do TOs like you would expect them to. We prefer to call them "cool downs" because for the most part our LOs are not behaving the way they are to be "bad" per se. They're either realizing that their actions result in a reaction from you and they're enjoying the cause and effect factor. It can also be that they do not have the ability to express their needs/frustrations/feelings in a manner that's suitable for us, therefore, the only way they know how is to get upset. By placing them in a TO you're punishing them for being a learner (practicing cause and effect, for example) or for not being able to express their feelings the way you want them to. Instead, we place DD in a cool down where we taught her to take deep breaths. The cool down doesn't usually last that long. We'll usually follow it by acknowledging her frustrations and provide tools on how to handle it in the future.
grinding teeth is normal. Your LO might be getting in another or as my dentist said "just trying to see what happens when you do that." It smooths the teeth and they look a bit less ragged.
Time out can be done in a special chair or mat. At my niece's nursery school they sit on a wall. General rule is 1 min per year.
Ah yes, the "Throw all that child development crap out the window because my child is advanced! He TOTALLY gets it." There will always be exceptions to the rule and clearly your child is an exception as is everyone else who believes this. Believe what you want.
TOs are a punishment. We don't make it into a negative connotation for her. We explain that she's too upset and needs to cool down. Many people view it as a negative consequence and I didn't want her to think that she was in trouble because she couldn't properly express herself.