Why does it seem the only way my toddler hears me is if I yell?

Question

It seems like since my son turned two, his whole outlook has changed. For one, I can not get him to stop yelling he gets in my ear and yells. I ask him to stop and so he does it louder, so then I shut the door to get the hollering out of my ears and he bangs on the door. Normally, I can take it but tonight I opened the door and screamed for him to quit. I use to think he was doing it because I wasn't paying enough attention to him but today I have done a lot with him and he's just being annoying and irritating. It's like he knows it, when I hollered for him to stop he did quit but it really hurt his feelings. I don't know why he likes to torment me, I think in one sense he thinks it's funny and I don't think he's trying to be mean but it seems like he enjoys getting my attention "anyway he can". How can I control my son without yelling?

Answer 1

i don't mean to be rude but it sounds like he is mimicking your behavior which is common with toddlers. if you want him to act differently you have to give him better examples and dont expect him to just listen to automatically and yelling doesn't help...as you are learning.

my suggestion is if he doesn't respond to after the 2nd request get up and stop him from doing what ever he is doing and get him to focus on....then ask again, and show him what you want him to do or not to do

Answer 2

GET HIS EARS CHECKED!  My husband was like this at that age, turns out he had constant untreated ear infections and now suffers from partial hearing loss.

If it's not his ears then you're TALKING TOO MUCH, ACT!  He knows what your limit is and what you sound like when you get there, instead of using your words take action and stop him!

Answer 3

It looks like the terrible 2's has taken over your son. I to have a son he turned 2 on the 4th of July and he to only hears me when I yell. They are not deaf they can hear very well my daughter is the same and she is 3, but the difference in my situation is they also respond to spankings, timeout and nap time. It is there way of trying to get attention. What I do is I give them part of my day which is before nap time after breakfast and after dinner before bed time. We also take them to the movies and to the park so they can be themselves but don't give up on talking as young as he may seem to you he understands more than you think so sit down and talk to him and explain how good little boys get rewarded , if he notices him being good is rewarding he will try to calm down but you have to calm down sometimes you have to show him that his yelling does not bother you, it first starts with you try to stay calm and watch what he does.

Answer 4

he could be partially deaf

Answer 5

Unfortunately, today's parents seem to think they know how to parent better than our parents or grandparents did.

"Time Outs" and "Go to your room!" only perpetuate a society of kids that have such a huge sense of entitlement that you may never get them out of your house until they are 40.

Sometimes negative re-inforcement just plain works better. Smack your son on the butt every time he screams in your ear and see how often he keeps doing it. Just my two cents.

Answer 6

If you say something twice and he doesn't respond.. ignore him until he does what you say. Don't yell at him.

Answer my question:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/;_ylc=...

Answer 7

Because kids fear noises they can't imitate just try to be patient and also try getting your son's ears checked with my son he had water in his ears which caused problems.

Answer 8

God bless you for living with a two-year-old. I almost gave up working with children entirely when I worked for a year with two-year-olds. I used to think that it would be the most wonderful thing in the world to have twins, and then I realized in a panic, yikes they would both be 2 at the same time. To me, it is worse than teenagers. I realized that they will constantly and consistently try your patience. It is like a game to see who will win. You will win as long as you keep to your rules. I learned that I had to make my rules and always make sure there was a punishment or consequence every time (or almost every time). I don't mean beatings, but more like sitting in time out or taking away something fun. See if you can talk very quietly to your son offering something he likes. He will have to listen to that if he wants a treat for example. It will take time. I TRY to save yelling and screaming for the last resort on few occasions but of course it does not always work. Good luck to you and keep trying. You know he will!

Answer 9

I'm not a mother, but this is what my mom (who is a psychologist) did with my little brother during the terrible two's.

He wants attention? Ignore him.

Don't reward his yelling, don't yell back. Ignore him.

It will be very hard, but you are not doing him a favor by rewarding negative behavior.

Try focusing on his positive behavior. Did he do something right? Tell him, give him attention! Help him understand he can do things GOOD that you will notice!

Answer 10

At two any attention is better than no attention at all they don't seem to be able to see the difference between positive and negative reactions. I myself was at wits end when my child would vie for attention all the time so when he was at his worst I sat on the floor and Cried I cried my eyes out funnily enough they can associate crying with hurt so I explained to him that he had made me cry and why it seemed to work not completely but it made things allot better.