Parenting Advise

[WODIN]

My 11 month old daughter, the apple of my eye, the jewel in my life has started this little game of getting trapped *sort of* under or around things and then yelling for help. While it is a cute game and we don't mind playing rescue the baby we don't want to ingrain a pattern that will later develop into unhealthy habits.

What, if anything, short of ignoring her please, can be done to help her see this as a game or is it too early in her development to worry about such things?

 

[decem]

i don't have an answer to your question wodin.. but i can say this.. i admire the proactive approach you are taking in raising your child...

i had the opportunity, if you want to call it that, to live with a younger couple in california who had just had their first child.. she was a year old when i was living with them.. i don't think this couple had read even one book on child rearing.. or taking any classes.. and as a result.. i saw some worse parenting skills than i had ever thought possible.. it was hard for me to bite my tongue.. and sometimes i couldn't..

at any rate.. their child.. as a result of their laziness and neglect toward educating themselves on parenting.. as well as their non-chalant, passive approach to it.. is already facing more obstacles in it's life.. a pattern which i'm sure will continue.. than yours.

 

[Arioch]

I would like to offer something truly constructive, but the best I can do is say carefully ignore her as you suggested. The worst thing would be to ignore her and have it be serious.

Mine son never did this one (must have skipped it somehow), but now, at not-quite-eighteen, if he were to be trapped under something, I would hopefully have time to run before he was able to escape.

 

[bouncer]

I'd just play along with her little games. I'm sure as responsible as you sound you've taken care of all the usual safety issues around your home. I.e not leaving leads hanging from tables, safety guards on plug sockets etc.. Your baby is just learning her little world and exploring things.
I have two children and can speak form experience. Wait untill she's at the 'terrible two' stage !.
My daughter is 6 going on 16 at the moment so mate you have it all ahead of you.
Regards to you and your young family.

Bouncer

 

[WODIN]

Thanks for the replys all. She has a twin brother to beat up on as well and the house is saftey proofed but she manages this little stunts of semi-getting into situations that don't require a rescue but she likes playing it.

Then there are the items that do require a rescue. Like crawling under and ottoman and getting stuck. That's a fun one. LOL!!!

She usually does it when she feels neglected. TWINS!!!

 

[Bigsatan13]

Beat the shit out of her! ............Come on enjoy it while it lasts. She's going to grow out of it and you're going to miss it. I love looking at pictures of my daughter and I playing games like that. I'm glad I have the pictures to reflect on.

 

[havoc]

Mine son never did this one (must have skipped it somehow), but now, at not-quite-eighteen, if he were to be trapped under something, I would hopefully have time to run before he was able to escape.

That is funny!

Wodin, good luck bro, I have no answers, well none that are serious. peace

 

[WODIN]

Beat the shit out of her! ............Come on enjoy it while it lasts. She's going to grow out of it and you're going to miss it. I love looking at pictures of my daughter and I playing games like that. I'm glad I have the pictures to reflect on.

Don't get me wrong bro. I love playing her little games these are just some of the issues that come up in the back of my mind that I may or maynot have to deal with.

Besides, I beat her up this past week when my wife left me alone to watch them both for the first time. I was certain that this one ding she got while trying to stand using her stoller for support was going to turn into a shiner but over night the thing healed up and was gone. Amazing!

 

[Zebo]

Wodin,
Don't make a big deal out of it or make it fun. She'll start associating attention with hiding and getting trapped (could be very dangerous)
Ignore it but keep an eye on her at the same time. She give up eventually when its not an attention getter. Unfortunately she'll also try something new.......

Like walking up the OUTSIDE of the staircase, blindfolded......
My 3 yr. old actually did that......wtf?

You've got a long row to plow my friend...........

 

[spongebob]

simply lock her in the closet,..........she wont wanna hide anymore.

 

[vixenbabe]

Just a start of the games...

Wait til they hide from ya and won't answer when you call them.....LITTLE SHITS CAN TEST YA!

 

[Zebo]

Just a start of the games...

Wait til they hide from ya and won't answer when you call them.....LITTLE SHITS CAN TEST YA!

No shit! LOL

 

[beastboy]

One of those hunting dog collars might work....LOL.


my dausther likes to lock me out of the house when I take the trash out or go to warm up the truck.

 

[THeMaCHinE]

I assume from your post that she's doing it so much that it's becoming a hinderance. Positive reinforcement of action carries much greater weight than punishment.

You said she does it when she feels neglected. Why does she feel neglected? Is there a way you can include both kids at these times?

If not, is there some sort of reward or game you can institute to lessen the behavior? (i.e. When she hides, you call out how you're scared and you need a hug/protection from her -- or you get out a favorite toy and play with it in her line of vision to draw her out ((or give it to her brother if you want to see her come out doubly quick...lol)))

If she does this and you pay more attention to her brother while she's hiding, would that draw her out?

 

[WODIN]

We don't punish, we use pos. reinf. and bahavoir transitioning.

Both were premature and required PT and OT, he is still receiving the PT/OT and she isn't since she has advanced to about a month ahead of were she would have been had she gone to term. So we have to work on his OT/PT still 3x a day on motor skills.

We do work with her but not as much as we were.

He is catching up fairly fast and within the next to weeks his OT/PT will probably end too and they can start being babies who get to terrorize each other 24/7!

We use the toy lure to transition their behavoir from what ever to something else that isn't negative. I'll start trying to lure her and see if that works. When she hides it's cute, she puts her blanket over her head and she can see us, we can see her and she then yells! LOL!!!

 

[THeMaCHinE]

It does sound really cute...kinda reminds me of things my little girl does (3 y.o.)... But she's big enough to stomp a hole in her brother... luckily he's a tough little guy and catching up fast ... but boy do they compete for attention...

My girl's big thing now is play crying when she doesn't get something... pretty pathetic at times really (in a cute way). But she's a great actor and you can't always tell when she's serious or playing. When you do catch her at it, she cracks up in a big smile and laughs hard ... fun stuff.

My little boy (1 y.o.) is definitely a mama's boy -- clings to his mom like a shadow. If our daughter gets within 1 foot -- he attempts to defend his territory (and attention) by yelling out, pushing -- whatever is necessary. Kinda pathetic at times too (in a cute way). They're both learning though, each day they get a little better...

 

[mrbill]

simply lock her in the closet,..........she wont wanna hide anymore.

my thoughts exactly and don't forget the beating BEFORE locking her away in a VERY SMALL closet. If you do not have a closet like that, do what I do, and lock them in a suitcase..in the basement. 12 hours of that and they will never want to hide again.

Or...

you could just ignore the behavior as others have suggested, but that is not nearly as fun

 

[Rex]

My parents used to put the play pen upside down over me so I couldn't roam around the house. I managed to escape a lot.