How Do I "Tame" My Daughter?!

I am interested to see the responses you get. But in my experience, the behavior you are describing is just normal and typical, and the people who have 1 year olds that don’t want to get down and mover around are just abnormally lucky. And anyone who thinks you are raising a brat based on this behavior is overly opinionated jerks. She will probably not be able to sit still and good though church, dinner out, or any activity like that on a consistent basis until some time between 2 ½ and 3. You will have good days, bad days, and various phases for some time. Just try to put yourself in places where it is more convenient to deal with it. Sit in back of Church, go to restaurants where there are likely other kids, and parents who will be more understanding. And save any type of discipline for things you really want to stop – hitting, tantrums, running in the street, eating worms, etc. (at this age my kids responded to NO, removal of items that were frustrating them, and an occasional swat on the hand for really bad behavior, like biting your sibling)

A lot of churches have a mother's chapel or offer babysitting in the church provided by church volunteers. If you are catholic it may be something for the Confirmation class to use as a community service project. Ask your Pastor about it and if they don't offer it suggest it, especially if there are other parents that may be able to take advantage of it. That would take care of the church problem. As for her wanting to be on the go honestly I dont think there is anything you can do to change that...babies are curious about everything around them and it is nature for them to want to explore, only thing I can think of is when you are out and about keep something on hand to hold her interest when she is unable to do her exploring.

Hi Katheryn! You've gotten great advice already, I'm just gonna toss out an idea. My son is a little over ten months and also extremely curious. Of course, you don't want to stifle that, so sometimes what I do when I have to be somewhere new with the little one is to arrive early and explore with him. That way, the place is not so "new and interesting" when it's time for him to be a little more . . . settled. (yeah, right, settled, ha ha ;) ) also, you might try a sling. your little one is older but i also find that mine is more calm and mellow in the sling than out of it. more likely to spend time in that "quiet but alert" stage that i've heard of (but rarely seen.)

I totally agree, by the way, that punishment is going to do no good right now. You can start with the rudiments of discipline by repeating things like "its quiet time now" as you remove your baby from the situation. she'll start getting the message that if she can't be quiet when it's time to, that you'll remove her from that situation.

good luck! hope this helps!

welcome to an early version of the twos!! My daughter did the same thing. It is just becuase she is bright and learns quickly and she is discovering the world around her and wants to express her opinion. My husband and I basically learned to adapt the situation for her. For example, in church, we took crayons and let her color. good luck!

Oh, you wouldn't want to dicipline her for this behavior. She's not doing anything wrong, she just wants to learn to walk and use her new found abilities. All kids are like this. I have 3 kids, 11, 10 and 13 months. When they went through this stage I'm sorry to say, we just didn't do a whole lot. lol. We couldn't go to a restaurant w/o my son wanting out of his high chair to walk down the isles. We just figured it was easier to go to Mcdonalds or someplace kid friendly if we even went out. do you have a crying room at church? That would be your best bet now or if not you may do just what you did, try to sit but when she gets antsy go to the back. We use to belong to a church that didn't have the crying room and the priest would always say they wanted the kids to be part of the mass and if they made noise so what...well that priest wasn't getting the nasty looks from all the elderly people. lol! But we tolerated it and your baby will eventually learn to sit nice. I always brought fruit snacks and books when they were a little older. When I go shopping, I try to pick a day when hubby is home, I leave the little one here and go by myself, just easier. But she's not doing anything wrong, it's just the stage she's going through. When they become mobile it's alot more work! : )

S.

I don't have any advice for you, just sympathy. I have a son (now 19 months) who is/was EXACTLY like you described your daughter. He's gotten better in some situations but still does that in others. For instance, we were at a library class this week and he wouldn't sit still. He wanted to play with the vending maching, climb on chairs and the windowsill. Basically anything but sit with me. Every time I went to get him he threw himself back and screamed. Many other moms looked at me but there is nothing I can do. That's how he is. The good news is that he's much much much better than he was 6 months ago.

Katheryn,

Discipline is not going to be understood and actually obeyed until she is 2 years old however you need to start now with your discipline actions so that by time she is 2 years old she gets it because she has been hearing it for a year.

It's really frustration when you tell your child the same thing over and over and over and they still don't listen, but it is creating consistency for them - every time they do a certain action and they are told to not do it, it finally sinks in that they probably aren't supposed to do it.

Remember wrong and right are learned reactions. At this age they soak knowledge up so fast that if you teach them that it's OK to do what they are doing by the time that they can understand commands they have already learned that it doesn't matter and then it become a struggle to get them to listen.

OK I'm done - hope that this helps.

ENJOY - sounding like a broken record eventually pays off.

Oh and as far as the being loud and fidgety in church at 1 year old your daughter is too young to be expected to act any different - I saw that others had wrote about children's room or cry rooms at churches, use them it takes a lot of the stress away about being in church with a young one.

take care,
Mel

My first born was the same way and he is the greatest kid in the world at 7. he has always known what he wanted and strove to get it and is a very happy active and diverse child now because of that fact so don't worry about raising a brat, some children are jsut strong willed and it isn't that she is being bad it's jsut she is doing something inappropriate for that time or place. let her know this. tell her she an walk outside and if you have to go tot eh back or leave then do it she'll get the hint, it's no different than when you are at home and you tell her she can't play with the lamp on the table and you take her to something she can play with. it takes time but you can't expect her to sit for hours on end at churchc or not. so be patient and good luck

Recommendation for children 1 and up:
I believe if you to the time out and you start early, they grasp it well and cuts down much frustration in the future. When her behavior warrents it, sit her down in your designated area and tell her in simple small words and few sentences as possible, her behavior is not nice or you can't hit or you will sit in the time out/naughty behavior chair..(on outting one can be made anywhere you need one). They will begin to associate the reason. I recommend doing it one minute per age of the child. That really seems like a life time for a child. You will feel better once the routine begins vs trying to start it at a later stage when you are pulling your hair out.

Between this age and 3, their vocabulary shoots up and they do push limits because they do not know they have limits.

Please keep in mind, that children grow by exploring their enviroment. If a place is hard for an adult to sit still or listen, it definately is for a child. Crawling around and wanting to be doing instead of sitting is very normal. Time outs in my opinion are only for "bad" behavior...hitting, pushing, not listening to a directive you have put in place for your household, but being figity, and wanting to be a person in motion is not a reason.

Use your instincts, call your mother, grandmother, sister, or aunt and see what they did for you when you did these things. Take advice, then use what you want to use. Remember, daycares are using the time out system, so better you begin it when necessary, then to have frustration when they do it.

Throughout a child life time, they will deal with rules and boundaries, and they need to start at your home.

Good luck
J.

(Capital University; Psychology)

If I didn't know better, I'd say your daughter has a twin....my daughter! Mine just turned 1 and she has always been extremely active and LOUD. I wonder all the time where she came from because myself and her dad were extremely shy and mellow as children lol. There's isn't anything that can be done except maybe bring something to distract her with, like a snack, toy, book etc. I don't let others phase me when I'm in public because if they are parents, they totally understand lol. When she is older you can teach her about certain places where she needs to be quiet (church, the movies, resturants etc) but, for now, don't even let it worry you.