How do I discipline my 16 month old?

Question

He constantly slaps me in the face....he runs away from me all the time, he won't eat most of the time, and he pitches fits and screams when he doesn't get his way. I have no idea how to control him.

Answer 1

This age is hard because they don't understand things and they have a hard time communicating to you what they want.

One thing that I did with my son is teach him sign language for a few things to help us out, more (for food), please, thank you.  This helped so I knew when he wanted food.  

My son doesn't seem to eat like I think other kids do.  He has his own schedule of when he wants food.  At first I tried to make him eat when and what I wanted him to, my doctor suggest I try to let him tell me when he was hungry and feed him what he wanted so he didn't hate to eat all together.  When my son was about your sons age, he really went through an eating problem because he wanted to do things by himself.  He quit eating his baby food and just ate things he could do on his own.  Once I started to let him do that, he was a lot better.

For the slaping and running away...slapping, be consistant.  Every time he does it even at his age, explain that it's not okay and put him in his crib/bed with the door shut for a minute 20 seconds (1 minute for every year he is).  If you start young he will grow up being pretty good.

Running away, if it is running away when you are out side of your house, I use a leash for my son, works great!  It gives him freedom to walk by himself but also allows me to know where he is and can make sure he is safe.  

If he is running away from you when you are at home and asking him to do something, try the time out thing.  Remember though when you do time outs they work better if you are calm and patient with him.  Calmly explain how you want him to act, and then when you go get him out of time out, explain to him why you put him there and that he needs to listen to you.  Then I always give my son a hug and a kiss and tell him I love him.  

For the fits...just ignore it.  My son tried it for a couple of months, would just lay down and scream or hit his head on the wall or floor.  Just ignore it because you know it really didn't hurt them too much, let them calm down and then help them.  It teaches them that they won't get attention that way.  When my son keeps doing it, I assume that he is acting like that because he might be tired and put him in his room.  

I also put my son in a twin bed when he was 14 months because he hated his crib.  That seemed to help so he could climb in and out of it (with the help of a stool) and when he was done sleeping or not ready he could play for a little bit.

Good luck.

Answer 2

hes not that old so just grab his wrist and look him in the eyes firmly and say NO when he slaps you to show him its not funny. when he doesn't eat try tasting it a little before feeding it to him to show him its not that bad and maybe try different recipes to see what he likes.When he runs away find him maybe give him a time out or firmly say NO. Never bribe him or he won't stop!

Answer 3

grab his hand and say NO.  remove him from the situation.  it's a game and he's winning.

Answer 4

When he screams and tantrums ignore him. I've stepped over my daughter before now and just walked away. Slaps in the face, grab his hands and say 'NO, thats naughty. It hurts!' It might take a while to sink in but explain about being sad. And start teaching him to say sorry if he can talk yet.

Earlier today my daughter wouldn't get dressed and all I had to say was 'Mummy going to get angry' and she came over and got dressed. (she's a little older than yours now, nearly two). Otherwise I turn my back on her and ignore her.

Children crave attention, good or bad, so witholding it works!

Also counting backwards from 10. Following through on the consequence is a must (as in 'I'm counting and when I get to 1 your going in your buggy/coming with me/getting a smack). In no time you'll only get as far as 10, 9, 8 before they give in most times!

As for eating...hmm...I know its hard not to worry but they on't starve themselves and they have much smaller appetites than us! Don't give snacks so he knows dinnertime is THE time to eat followed by pudding and then nothing else till next meal time. Do allow freedom if he doesn't want to be confined to his high chair. My daughter sits about 10 mins then wants to run around, coming back for mouthfuls.

Answer 5

CALL SUPERNBANNYFROM THAT TV SHOW SUPERNANNY!!!!!!!!!!!!OR You could looke him in the when your at eyelevel you may have to me sitting,on your knees, etc.Tell him what he did was wrong and then tell him he shouldn't do it again. If he continues put him in time out on a chair/stairs then walk away since he is  1 and a half make him sit on the chair for 1 and a half minutes if he gets up put him back down. Eventually maybe after about 3-20 tries he will sit on the chair and stay.It is okay for him to touch or lean against the chair he does not have to be in it.Then hug him and ask him if he knows why he was punished and if he doesn't tell him at eyelevel.

Answer 6

When my son slapped me in the face, I made my eyes REALLY BIG and got very close to his face and said, quietly, but scary, "NEVER EVER EVER HIT YOUR MOTHER! ' Then I sat him in the corner. He tried it one more time after that, got the same response, then never again. About running away from you- that just sort of works out over time. Keep going and getting him and telling him. If he runs away from you in a parking lot or somewhere dangerous like that, tell him VERY sternly that he CAN"T RUN AWAY from you near cars.. etc. My son is now 30 months old and all of these behaviors have passed. Just make some firm rules regarding safety and treating other people well and let the rest go. For food- make sure he has healthy choices and then let it go. Lots of kids seem to stop eating for awhile.

Answer 7

Ah. This is the tantrum age, isn't it? I think it shouldn't be called terrible 2s, but terrible 1 to 2s. I agree with the other answers. I found that at 16 months my daughter needed time-outs...and they worked very well. But I know time-outs don't work with all kids.

My 2 year old still doesn't eat. I wouldn't worry about that. He'll eat when he's hungry.

Answer 8

Ignore it.  If he sees that he is getting attention, he might continue to do it.  Hopefully it is just a phase and he will get over it soon.