My Toddler Laughs When I Say "NO"

Time outs really start working at this point. You could use the bed, but that becomes pointless, because you want to make that a good experience.
Keep with one spot in the house- one minute for every age in the rule of thumb.
And know that toddlers, when tired, will wind themselves up. At this point, just say, seems like your'e tired, time for quiet time, or time for a nap.
He is testing you and playing his game.
Just telling him no isnt going to work because he will think it a game.
Be very stern and do time outs every time, then he will get the idea. And explain in terms he might understand.
Hope this helps.

My daughter is turning three next week. We've tried to was minimize the times that we said, "No," to her otherwise all she would have heard was NO-- then she'd start using it all of the time. What worked for us was to try to turn things into a positive. For example, "climbing isn't for the dining table, but you can climb on the slide, the couch, the xyz." "knives aren't for little hands, they're for big hands, when you are bigger, you can use a knife." "Turning on the dishwasher is for mommy to do, you can turn on the toy, the light switch." "Biting isn't for people, you can bite this apple, your toy, whatever." Anyway- then whenever we say no, she knows we mean it. I think it worked with her, because then she had an outlet and was able to do things. I'm not sure it will work with every child. Note- this was a tool that I learned from a parenting class so we didn't just make it up. Good luck.

Sounds like your son has found a surefire way to get a reaction from mom. Some thoughts: make sure you say "no" and why the behavior is not okay in as few words as possible -- for example, "No biting. Biting hurts!" or "Off the table. Not safe!" At that age, kids will tune you out with much more of an explanation. I used time outs at that age. If he does not stay put, you can tell him you are adding time and put him back where he was supposed to be staying. He might get upset, but that's kinda the point. While he is in a time out, keep an eye on him, but do not give him attention (e.g., more explanations, sitting with him, etc.) as the extra attention will be seen as a reward. Is it possible that your son is getting more of a reaction from you with bad behavior than good? I fell into this trap. I just enjoyed the good times and then reacted verbally more to the bad things my son did. I wasn't flipping out about them or anything, so I didn't realize that there was an issue. Then I read somewhere that parents should strive to say at least five positive things about a child's behavior for every negative comment. Even things like, "Thanks for eating so neatly," or, "Thanks for chewing your food so well," or "Thanks for waiting patiently while Mommy paid for that," can really help. Kids crave attention, positive or negative. You son might just be trying to get a reaction from you, and he knows that smiling or laughing when you say no gets a reaction (as does the initial behavior). Try to follow the five-to-one rule. When you say "no" and give time-outs for the climbing/biting (if you choose to do so), say everything in as succint and matter-of-fact way as possible. Ignore the smiling or laughing after you say "no." Any other reaction will likely fuel the fire.

He's doing this all to get a reaction outa you. My suggestion is that for the biting say 'no biting' firmly & then get him invovled in something else. As for the climbing on the table & turning on the dishwasher, I suggest distrtaction. When he does either of those 2 things, just remove him from the situation & get him involved in something else. When our now 3 yr old was about 11 months or so, he figured out how to climb on the dining room, table & then spilled the S/P all over the place. What worked is what I suggested, I made no comment & just calmly took him off the table & distracted him w/another toy or game. It took about a week, but then he stopped climbing on the table. I didn't start time outs w/my boys (we also have a 7.5 yo) until they were about 3 cuz that seemed to be the age they got that TO was the consequence for the naughty behavior. Attention spans are short at you rsno's age so your son may forget the naughty behavior before he even gets to TO. Just be sure to not make a big deal outa what he's doing, & stay calm. Good luck!

Hi N.,

I sympathize with the biting. It does hurt a lot. My son would bite only me and then think it was funny. I would tell him don't bite, but then he would laugh. What was suggested to me was when he bites to stiffen up and firmly say no biting. Then I would put him down, and walk out of the room and say you can play with daddy now. I would come back in 5 minutes. He would cry but after a week or so, he got the idea. After a month, he quit biting me. He does it every so often and I do the same thing... On the saying no issue: He laughs at me if I tell him no or stop.. Now what I ahve been trying is telling him No firmly and start to do something else. Once he sees that I am not paying attention he loses interest..

Hope this helps.

H.