My 14 Month Old Wont Talk an She Screams All the Time

I took a behavior management class and my teacher said that every behavior has a purpose. Why is she screaming? Is it b/c she's frustrated? Is it because she lacks the language skills to communicate what she wants? I have no clue when kids start talking since my son was delayed, but I do know that teaching some basic signs while they are learning to communicate is awesome. They pick up the signs faster and it helps reduce frustration when trying to seek needs.

I think that telling her no is not going to teach her how to more effectively communicate. Again, figure out what is making her scream and guide her into a more appropriate way to communicate.

Good luck!!! :-)

Do you mean that she screams with a sound from her throat but not while trying to say words? In other words, she doesn't talk? The screaming is not an attempt to talk. If so, I recommend that you get an evaluation for speech and development issues. She may have a sensory processing disorder as well as a speech delay which is causing her to scream in frustration. You can do this thru the school district without cost.

Even if her screaming is just that it's a bad habit, I would still have her screened. Something sounds amiss.

Does she point to things that she wants? Is she interested in playing with a variety of toys? Can you predict when she'll scream and note what is happening that might be frustrating?

If it's a habit left over from having discovered that she can scream you can influence her to not scream by not paying any attention to her when she's screaming. She will eventually learn that screaming doesn't work.

Is her screaming done in anger because you have said no? Then learning ways of directing her without the frequent use of no may help. Is your house child proofed so that there is lots for her to explore without having you have to say no?

As to her going ahead and doing something after you said no, this is very normal She is just beginning to learn about boundaries. You have to follow thru. I recommend distracting her by focusing her attention on something else. For example: she wants to play with the TV controls. You pick her up and put her in another part of the room away from the TV and hand her a toy she can play with. In this way she will eventually learn how to change directions for herself. This is a years long process.

I highly recommend reading a parenting book or two. 1-2-3 Magic is a good one. My favorite is Love and Logic by Foster and Cline.

She sounds perfectly normal to me! My 15 mo. old says a 5-10 word; however he does a lot of the screaming and noises...because he (and your daughter) and exploring with sounds, with will teach them to talk! Don't be so hard on her (or yourself) and enjoy her!! :)

She screams because she's frustrated she can't talk yet. Encourage her to use her words, and mention it to your pediatrician at her next visit. A 15 month old should only have a vocabulary of about 10 words, usually less.

How many words are you expecting your 14 month old to say? Saying no and tapping her on the leg won't do much and if you say NO too many times she will just tune you out.. At that age the key word is REDIRECT.. she do something your not wanting her to distract her into doing something else. Also try reading books to her so she hears a steady stream of words. Screaming is just a reaction to what is going on any kid will get upset is swatted or told no..even my youngest at 8 years old screams sometimes at being told no well for that matter so doesn't my 14 yr old some days lol ..but be patient I would be more worried if she never said anything

Sounds like a perfectly normal 14 month old! Try teaching her signs, try being sure that you get enough kid free timeso you can recharge your batteries and patience and remember it's just a phase. pretty soon she'll swap this behavior for a different behavior that'll drive you just as crazy!

A 14 month old child typically has a very limited vocabulary; that is normal. And it is also normal for her to continue to do something that you just told her not to do; she is still a very young toddler. The best thing that you can do is to make her environment as safe and touchable as possible, in other words, keep the things that she is not allowed to play with out of her reach rather than constantly having to tell her not to touch them. And instead of just saying no all the time, try re-directing her attention with an interesting toy or game like peek-a-boo or "This Little Piggie," etc. Your baby will learn to talk by listening to and interacting with you and her other caregivers. Talk to her all the time, narrate your day, talk in funny voices sometime, sing lots of songs to her, don’t be afraid to be silly! That is the best way to teach her to talk. In about 4-5 months she will suddenly seem to learn many words very quickly, words that she has heard many times and will finally be able to say! But just because she talks, do not assume that she will be rational and understand what you are trying to tell her all of the time, she is still so little!

Fourteen months is still pretty young to be talking (more than a few words), which could be why she is screaming - let me explain: Oftentimes children at that age get frustrated because they are trying to communicate, but don't have the words yet. A friend of mine use to battle with her daughter because she would regularly throw prepared food onto the floor. Once her daughter learned the sign for "bathroom", she learned that her daughter was throwing her food on the floor (out of frustration) because she wanted to use the potty (and yes, 14 months is unusually early for being potty trained in this country - but it is a great demonstration of how teaching a child to sign can enable us to respond to our children better).

I like the previous responders remarks. Even at 25 months, the word "no" doesn't usually bring about the behavior changes that I am desiring in my son. Now that he is older, I talk to him about self-control, but I find that the easiest way to modify behavior with a young child is distraction (or redirection). I use humor when appropriate (like being silly) or try to get him interested in another task or toy.

0h, I completely understand! The way that you get her to stop is whisper. Whisper everything to her and she will have to stop screaming to hear you and what you are saying. If you tell her---"mommy can't hear you when you scream, I can only hear you in your nice inside voice" and then model it, she will catch on and stop screaming. Part of it is the newness of screaming and how fun it can be. It will wear off and she will settle down. GL

M

My advice? Learn some baby sign language. YouTube is full of the stuff. My son learned a few signs to indicate Sorry, Hungry, Play, Drink, etc. when he was about a year. It really eased his frustration just to be able to get his point across. Signing Time has a great video series you could try to get from your library. And, some opponents say it will delay talking- I have NOT AT ALL found that to be the case! In fact, the opposite is true for us. Once he could relax, he started talking in books! He said a 5 word sentence at 20 mos and now he tells us short stories and talks in paragraphs! He'll be two in Oct.

Does she have any developmental delays? I realized my son was autistic at 17 months when he had no words at all and didn't play like other kids. He also would wake up in the middle of the night screaming and I couldn't comfort him. Little did I know how common bowel issues and brain swelling is for autistic kids. I had to tell my pediatrician that he was autistic. I'm not saying it is the same for your daughter but do be aware of the signs.

Have you had her ears checked? I had a good friend that her child was just about the same way. One day a Dr. finally decided to check out her ears and highly recommended tubes for her. The mom saw and ENT and tubes were put in and within one day the child was as happy as could be. She is starting to talk more and smiles and just really turned into a great/happy baby/toddler.

Good luck!