My 13 month old daughter has developed a new bad habit- screeching. She has plenty of words, she is in fact very chatty, so I don't think it's frustration because she can't express herself. When we are eating dinner or she is having her breakfast, she will screech and throw her head back. I've tried very firmly saying no, but that just results in another screech. I've also tried whispering to her, "We don't yell, we talk nice." That works briefly. She will then whisper, "nice", but she will screech again after just a few minutes. Maybe it's just a phase and it will pass. Any suggestions? I'm thinking she's too young for time out, but maybe I'm wrong.
As with all of her other behaviors, the screeching has passed. She has now moved on to testing other boundaries. Thanks for all of the advice and reassurance.
My daughter is 13 months and screeching as well. The screeching for her seems to be for fun and not because she's frustrated. I'm trying not to react to it and hoping it goes away soon :)
Added two weeks later...thankfully, the screeching has now stopped. Of course now we've gone on to other annoying things :)
Ha, my 14 month old son does the same thing. I'm glad to hear I am not the only one going through it : ) Like Kristen, I think my son does it more for fun than anything else. I am not really sure how to get the screeching to stop.... I try telling him "no screaming please", but that isn't working : ) I think it's just a phase and one of many ways they can express themselves. I am sure it will go away with time and hopefully our eardrums will survive. Good luck!
My one and two year old do the same thing for sheer fun. Most of the time we just let kids be kids. Really, when was the last time you screamed at the top of your lungs? It's great! We often find ourselves all screaming at the table. It makes everyone laugh and then we're all screamed out and we finish eating. Not every meal has to be what filled with proper etticate.
By the time you are reading these responses, the phase has probably passed! My daughter, and every toddler I know well, has gone through this. I have no doubt that it will eventually stop. It's fun to scream- why not?? My choice of responses is IGNORE. Pretend it isn't happening. Tell her once to please stop screaming and after that just ignore it. Walk away from the table and leave her. My daughter has actually done this at two points (around 10 months and again around 16 months). This week, she is into screaming "Arriba" (I have NO idea why/how she got that) from her crib. We ignore. She loses interest. Either that, or wait a week or so. :) Good luck!
My 13 month old is doing the SAME thing! I would ignore (I know it's hard) because at this age, children look for reactions - and enjoys them no matter what the cause or type. I would keep a calm voice as you're doing - but I think it's a phase... I faintly remember my now 5 year old going through it too. I am a firm believer in Time Outs, but 13 months is too young - she won't understand it.
I'd say it's just a phase. What I've done with my son, granted, he's 4 now, but it's what we've always done...is whisper when he's loud, ignore the attention-seeking behaviors (as much as possible), and tell him I can't understand him if he's whining, yelling, etc. She'll get tired of hearing herself screech soon enough...and move on to some other completely annoying behavior! Good luck!
Jus a phase where she's finding out that her voice can go VERY LOUD so she's experimenting with it. Just wait because once she's out of that phase she'll be into something equally annoying. lol
I think it's just a phase. She's trying out those lungs, new sounds, and looking at your reaction. I've thought it best to ignore these types of things with my babies. It will pass soon and she'll be focused on other skills!
This phase will pass. She is testing her voice and learning that she can make different sounds, low or high. You should not respond very strongly. I would say time-out is too harsh at this stage. She will not even understand why you are doing it. In her world, screeching is similar to any other words/ sounds she is using, and she will grow out of it in a few months.
From what I gather, this is a phase most kids go through, my girl did the same thing around the same age. We didn't punish her for it, and did all the same things you mention that you did. It does pass, they just like the fact that they can manipulate their voice and scream, cause/effect. She's trying out her tools. She'll move onto something else, but don't be surprised if it recurs later on occasion. We found that the distraction method helped, divert her to something else she can do (singing a song, making faces, etc).
This too shall pass. She has just discovered a new skill that not only drives you nuts, but probably feels pretty cool. It definitley is not only an auditory, but sensory experience to screech at the top of your lungs. I know I have felt the need to do that on particulary tough days. 8) She will stop eventually and move on to something new to try out. Try not to give it too much attention, especially at meal time because these little ones are quite savvy and she will continue to screech if she knows it will get a reaction out of you.
Peace.
