Mom Seeking Advice About 14Month Son.

Hi J.,

I have no advice, but you are not alone. My 11 month old son, formerly the happiest, most easy going baby, now cries whenever he doesn't get his way. And then if crying doesn't work, he bangs his head on the ground. I have noticed that he doesn't do this quite so much with his daddy, or his day care provider. I know he's testing his limits, and he has figured out that mommy doesn't like the tears. I try to hug him, tell him why he can't do <whatever_it_is> and distract him with something else. I'm trying to be consistent and patient, but I know he'll be testing his limits for quite some time. (Like 18 years?)

There is a great book called, "The Happiest Toddler on the Block" by Harvey Karp. Start reading it asap. very helpful. Good luck.

He sounds to me like a very healthy, normal toddler...the attention span of a nanosecond and the desire to have/control everything...the best thing you can do for your son is be patient and give him words....label everything from toys,food, to feelings...the more words he becomes familiar with the easier it will become to communicate and that frustration will level out(not go away for awhile, but it will go way down)...when he's on to the next thing say "all done" teach him to put things away as he goes and limit what he has around him...it's really hard for a small child to sit and play with something when they are surrounded by over stimulus....I keep the majority of our toys in the closet or in bins and just a couple out...then we rotate them on a monthly basis...it's like Christmas once a month and now they play with the toys instead of just making a mess...

My son is almost 18 months and all I can tell you it that you are not alone. I am convinced it's the gender. I have a 5 year old daughter and used to hate when moms with boys would tell me how wild they can be, until I had our little "monster". I'm guessing it's the age. Now that they are mobile, and getting better at it everyday they want to check out everything- and now. Just keep baby proofing as much as you can so he can explore safely. And. re. the frustration- imagine how you would feel if you were in land where nobody understood what you were trying to say or do. That's what i think of when my son is frustrated- he is trying to tell us something but nobody could figure out what it is. Keep speaking to him so he'll start getting a vocabulary, and start having him do things, like put something in a room, or give something to daddy. Somebody told me once, just because your child doesn't speak english, doesn't mean they don't understand it. As soon as you two can communicate he may get less frustrated, that is until he learns the meaning of no-lol
Good luck.

Is he sleeping enough?