How to Get 18Month Old to Understand No.

Be calm, consistent and firm. If he doesn't respond to the word no when you tell him the second time, put him in his crib for a few minutes. He can cry and scream there. He will eventually get the message :)

In addition to calm, firm and consistent, I'd also suggest making the environment about a lot of Yeses. So, for ex, don't leave your cell phone where he can see it when possible. Give him a play cellphone to use when you need to make a call. If he's always climbing on something that is unsafe or always poking at the tv controls, remove it or gate it off. Jumping on the couch, calmly tell him no and remove him and give him the opportunity to jump elsewhere. Can you put a cushion on the floor for him to jump on or take him outside to run around? Hitting we never had an issue with. I think it happened once or twice, I said "gentle hands" and put her down, she got the message. Some kids are more difficult with that than she was though. Thowing toys, you need to give him things he can throw. So if you don't have any soft balls he can throw inside, take him out for throwing. Again using a very calm tone and not making a huge deal (but being consistent with the boundaries) can be really helpful. What worked a lot with my DD was not saying No so much. So if she was doing something she wasn't supposed to (climbing on the counter was a problem). Rather than saying "No," I removed her and showed her where she could climb. There will still be plenty of opportunities to learn no, but if you are not saying no as much it will be a lot easier.

My son is also a totally awesome kid! But every toddler tests bounderies like a velociraptor checking for weaknesses in an electric fence!
The time-out from Super Nanny REALLY works. We started around 12 or 13 mos. old. Stay consistant! I know it's hard. I am also pregnant with #2 and I have a 22 month old toddler. We do time outs for not listening, innapropriate behavior, whining and tantrums. Do not negotiate with the terrorist! If he asks for something that I do not intend to let him have, I say No and explain why. (It is sharp, in a few minutes because Mommy needs it right now, ...etc.) If he demands again, I say, "No, and that's all I have to say about that." and move on. If my son pitches a fit, I come down to his level, tell him he can continue his fit in time-out if he chooses, otherwise knock it off. If he chooses fit, he gets a time out. Put him in his spot, "you are in time out because....you got into the drawer that is off limits, you didn't listen to mommy, you pitched a fit, etc. You will sit here for 1 min." Ignore him for the minute, no attention at all. If he gets up, silently put him back or explain again ONCE, calmly. After 1 min, come back to him and repeat why he was in time out. Ask for an apology. (My son rubs his tummy in an imitation of the sign for "sorry" and says Mama) Then hugs and kisses and move on.

I do this wherever we are: department stores, home, library, grandma's, etc. If it happens in the grocery cart, he comes out of the cart and I put him on the floor for a minute. I stand right there. It is so important to keep the discipline consistant. It will take more effort up front, but yields huge dividends! He now usually takes the "No, and that's all I have to say about that." in stride. Believe me, in the throws of pregnancy fatigue and inside Target, the last thing I want to do is create more of a scene with a time-out on a dirty floor. But I remind myself of his nightly bath and that if he sees a chink in my armor or evidence of a cave-in, the climb back up the hill is energy I don't need to spend! And the next time we go out is better! He gets lots of love and tons of fun with me so I know he doesn't need the negetive attention to feel noticed. The most important thing children need is calm parents.- My mantra. I repeat that to myself when I'm so frustrated I feel like beating him.
Time outs are 1 minute per their age.
Hang in there and Buck up! You are the Mama and you CAN do this!

Its funny that you want to get your baby to understand No and here I am thinking its the one word that I want to remove from my 20 month olds vocabulary. She literally uses the word No day in and out and its definitely in the right context but when a 20 month old tries to tell you No all day it really gets old
Try not to be in too much of a rush to teach him that word LOL
Good Luck

At this age it is alot of reapeating yourself and redirecting. Definately use timeouts and another way of saying NO without saying the word is ex. we dont throw blocks. They are for building. and then show how to use the toy. If it happens again take toy away. Good Luck

I think the issue is that he understands "no" perfectly well. The problem is that he's hearing "no" too often. Try using more positive language and parenting from a more positive place rather than using negatives. He needs to be told what he CAN do, not what he can't. It's frustrating to be told "no" all the time. Consistently redirect him and have something ready for him to do that he'll enjoy instead. Prevention is going to resolve most of your problems before they even start.

When he does do something that he shouldn't do, such as throwing toys or hurting someone, or he's throwing an unavoidable tantrum, then you put him in a safe time-out spot. I would avoid having it be his own bed. You don't really want him to associate his bed as a place to be when he's naughty. Bed is supposed to be a place where he's comfortable and free of anxiety so that he can sleep rather than be punished.

Time outs on steps or on a chair work quite well. Shoot for a minute or two, no more. Each time he gets out, bring him back and start the time out all over until he stays put. You just do it until he gets it and stays put. Over and over and over. It doesn't matter if he cries or screams. As long as he stays. You explain to him why he's there, briefly: "James, you're in time out because you threw a toy. You aren't allowed to throw toys." Walk away. You don't need to explain it every time you put him back there when he gets out of time out. Then when he's finally finished with time out, you tell him again why he was there and tell him that he should apologize for throwing toys.

As he gets older, the offenses will be different because your rules will change. But that'll be the gist of it for the next 18 years.

Oh do I feel your pain! I have a 3.5 year old and a 21 month old. For the younger one, I learned a disciplin technique (from a retired female school principal) that I am SO grateful for! I only wish I knew of this when my son was under 2.
When my 21 month old daughter acts up (hits, bites, screams, squirms to get down) I simply take both of her hands (using one of mine if I am holding her) - I look into her eyes and firmly say "NO". Keep holding her hands. Sometimes I repeat "NO" a few times. She usually looks back at me and seems to get it almost immediately. I do it for about 1 minute. Then at the end of it, I say "no biting or whatever it was she did" and then we kiss. She loves the kiss! This has worked amazingly for me! The only regret is I did not use it with my son when he was younger. Nip it now, right?!

You have to just keep at it. At that age I would do three no's and then a time out in a soft chair. I say very calmly that he will get a time out so he can calm himself down. I would even sit and hold him in the chair (bear hug with him facing away from me so he knew we weren't cuddling, not talking to him) if he refused to sit in it for the time out. Eventually he got it and now sits for his time outs (even screaming, he knows not to get out of the chair). Set a timer for two minutes so he can hear it beep and he will learn that's when his time out is over. However, we extend the time out if my so is not ready to play nice/be calm.

It will get easier over time. You have to be consistent and not give in. If you give in once, he will expect you to over and over.

Good luck!

You have to be consistent. If it is No today, then it needs to be No tomorrow. You can't flip flop. Just say it calmly and consistantly and move him away from whatever it is he is not supposed to be doing.

When he grabs your cell phone, take it away and say "not for Jack" and move it out of sight. Then give him something he *can* play with.

When he has a fit, put him somewhere safe (like a play pen) and let him have his fit. Don't try and calm him down by cuddling or cooing; he's got to learn that tantrum behaviour is NOT something that gets him attention. You can even say "Mommy's putting you in the playpen to calm down. Then you can come out." He won't understand that yet, but it's a good habit to get into for when he DOES understand in a year or so.

I agree with the other moms. You MUST be consistent, patient and calm. It will take a while before he gets that when mommy says 'no', she means it - *every* time.

Mamazita is right on target with this one. Calm, firm, consistent & direct. Hold his little hands, put your face right in front of his & explain the situation. The instant the tantrum begins, into the crib he goes until he's no longer screaming. He'll understand almost immediately that when he's trying to get a reaction by throwing a fit, he's not getting one so he'll stop the behavior. My son has never been much for tantrums, he only ever had maybe 3 in the whole time he was a toddler, but they were around that age & I was 9 months pregnant so I couldn't be squatting down & risk getting kicked or hit.

Hi T. you can't explains things to an 18 month old, it is just to many words for them to comprehend, and trust me just because he does not obey he understands the words no, if it is used in a firm tone, A one year old understands the word no when used with the proper tone. Here it is again the word NORMAL moms today use this word to freely, again I will say these behavior issues are only normal for the kids who are allowed to do these things with out discipline, I know the moms out there use punishment, that works for older children but young/small children need discipline, GrandmaT usually has great advice but yesterday a mom wrote in about hwer son spitting she GramT said ignore it andit will go away, maybe in time, but ignoring it tells the child that it is ok. (In My Opinion). I've been a mom for 27 years, and I have always believed in discipline and setting childeren up for success. J.