Mischevious Baby

apeschka

My son is 11.5 months old and he is really testing the boundaries. We tell him no when he does something he shouldn't and he stops looks at us and then continues to do it while smiling and staring at us. We pick him up and redirect him and looks at us smiles and goes right back to what he was doing while continuing to look right at us. I know he is testing boundaries but any creative ideas on how to get him to listen?

jwebb0512

At this point, it's just a lot of repetition. My son just turned one and does the same thing. I try to give him something to redirect his attention. I've moved a lot of things so it's a friendlier environment for him and we don't have to say no all the time. We usually explain to him why he can't have/or something instead of just saying no, so it's more positive(i.e. That's the dog's food. We need to leave it be). Eventually he'll understand.

kerbear135

DD does the exact same thing, only instead of always smiling, sometimes she likes to mix it up and laugh or cry like you just beat her....there are times it takes 5 or 6 (or more) attempts at redirecting her before she'll go do something else...it's frustrating, but all you can do is keep at it and try not to use the word "no" too much

ashiscute

Try to remove the things that really upset or could injure him.  Think about if something is really a big deal and if it's not ignore it.  My DS learned that turning the TV on and off was a great way to get attention.  So I unplugged the TV and then nothing happened when pressed the buttons.  He got bored pretty quickly and moved on to something else.  

For things you can't ignore, say No firmly and redirect.  It will definitely take awhile.  I don't usually spend time explaining he can't do a certain thing at that age.  Just be consistent.  He'll get there.