Maybe a silly question but LO has been crawling and pulling up for sometime now which means he's constantly going for things he shouldn't be. My livingroom is as baby proofed as it's going to get without just removing furniture which (in my opinion) is too much. We have a big space and he has lots of toys to play with but even in the space I've set up for him he'd still rather go pull up on the entertainment center and bang his hand on the tv. I've spent weeks trying to teach him "no," I redirect him to toys or whatever, I remove his hand and say no, nothing seems to be working. If I try to deter him from it he pauses, waits a moment, then goes right back to it. The tv is just an example but it's like that with every thing. I feel like I spend my entire day keeping him out of/away from everything. I even feel a bit guilty for not having a space that he can roam 100% freely in and get into whatever. I know he's growing, he's curious, and it's good for him to explore- but when do they begin to understand and respond to "no" or redirection starts to work?


Re: When do they learn what no means?
My kiddo definitely knows what no means. Terrible as it sounds, it's really hard not to laugh at how he reacts when I say it to him. He'll go after something he shouldn't (TV, the dog, electrical cords that I can't physically put completely out of reach, etc) and I'll look at him and say, "Will, no!" or "No sir!" and he'll stop, look back at me, stick his lower lip out, and then put his head down on his arms and fake cry for 15 seconds before turning around and finding something else to do (before getting into something else he shouldn't have all of 47 seconds later). He definitely knows what I'm saying to him and he does NOT like it! It's actually pretty hilarious, haha.
All I can tell you is that it WILL click. I know it's exhausting, trying to keep with him!
William Alexander born 18 September, 2015
Harper Grace born 9 June, 2017
Colton Miles born 9 June, 2017
Bowen James due 19 June, 2019
&just like these mommas say. Just keep doing it.
I redirect the boys. I tell them, "we dont play with that son." & move them. Then they stare @ me, play with something else for a few & wait until i look away to go back to where i moved them from. Yup.
Something they do stop after i tell them is hitting eachother. For the past week or so theyve been hitting each other to take toys away. I stop them from hitting & i say, "thats not nice, we do not hit. Stay away." then i scoot them away & they last a whole 20 minutes before fighting again! Yeah i call that progress lol.
Good luck momma, just keep @ it!
An additional note, and you've likely done it already-if you don't plan to wall mount your tv, make sure it is secured with anti-tip brackets. We chose to make our furniture LO safe, because I also have a home daycare, and while it's not our main area, I didn't want to constantly worry about what the kids could reach (like if Im in the bathroom or changing a bum). This is our tv. The Elmo couch blocks access to the power bar cord (though there is a safety cover on the outlet). The ps4 and Apple TV are tucked under the tv slightly to be far enough from the edge a 14mo can't reach. Open shelves have toys. Closed shelves are for display, and they have child proof latches on the inside. I have a corner guard on one side because it's near a door that kids often run through. There's a chair off to the left that directs traffic away from the other corner.
George (3)