Seeking Advice on Handling My 15Mth Old

Try monitoring how often you are telling her NOT to do stuff. I find with my children (3,3,2, & 8 months) that the more I tell them not to do stuff, the more they want to do it. But I find that when I spend the day praising them for what they are doing right, they are more likely to want to do that. For example, next time she is playing with a crayon, make a point to tell her that she is doing a great job of not putting the crayon in her mouth. Also, you should probably save the crayons for your "alone" times with her so you can catch her before she does it and praise her over and over for what a good job she's doing. If she does stick it in her mouth, that's the end of coloring time. Don't make a big deal out of it, just go on to a different activity. Same with the dog. "Catch her" petting him gentle and REALLY praise her for it. If he's friendly, let her give him a treat or two a day. Spend the day looking for things she is doing right and praise her immediately for it. Chances are she will go out of her way to show you what a big girl she can be. It is a daily battle for me and I know I've lost when I spend the day telling them "no" and "stop that". Also, don't wait until you are sans baby to play with her. Let her sit next to you while you are feeding your son and use the time to point out that he's her baby brother and he's got 10 toes and 10 fingers and 2 eyes, etc. Have her "help" you get wipes/diapers/clothes during diaper changes and tell her what a good big sister she is. Go out of your way to think of ways she can "help" you. Basically I find that it is just a matter of trying to find ways to redirect their energy. Good luck!

There are a few things you can try:

Does she have a doll of her own? When you are feeding or changing the baby encourage her to do the same with her doll? Or ask her to bring you a diaper and "help" you change the baby. This will give her some positive attention and feel involved.

When you are nursing or feeding what is she doing? If you aren't engaging her, use the time to read a book or watch Einstein with her.

And last, when she is engaging in the "bad" behavior, redirect her to something else that she can do.

Congratulations on your second little one's arrival!

Have you tried planned ignoring? If it is a plea for attention, she doesn't care if it's positive or negative. Planned ignoring with the crayon for example is to tell her once and when she does it, look away in an unhappy manner. Watch from the corner of your eye and as soon as she takes the crayon out of her mouth, give her very excited, over the top praise(to the point of feeling silly)for being a good listener. Keep any commands short and to the point. She's only 15 months and doesn't have the attention span for anything more. Good luck!

Thank the Lord crayons are non-toxic :D at 15 months, they're still learning the language, heck I still remember my mom giving me a sucrets (sore throat lozenge) when I was about 3 or 4, and she specifically explained to me that I was NOT to CHEW the lozenge, because I could not have another one, that I needed to suck on it.. so she proceeded to put it in my mouth, and baby Jenny, chewed chewed chewed that lozenge up. I thought I was following her orders. Patience and love. That's all I have for you, I'm sorry!

Good luck, and remember.. these days will pass, and when they go on their first dates, or are driving your car, you are going to long for the days where the biggest problems were crayon chewing and dog pinching ;) enjoy them while they are little! (easier said than done at times!)

Hi G.- At 15 months, instead of hearing "Don't put the crayon in your mouth," they hear, "Crayon mouth." Try, "Crayons are for paper." Try to turn the "Don't" comment into a "do" comment.
Other examples:
Don't Jump on the Couch. . . We jump on the floor.
Dont climb on the table. . . we can climb at the playground.
No candy now. . . we can have candy after lunch.
Hope that helps.

Hi G.,
A 15 month old will put everything in her mouth, just to discover it, so you can't really give her crayons to play with unless for a short time when she is really focused on coloring, but really she is even a little young for that.
With the dog, she is just playing with the dog in her mind, you could seperate them if you want to make it easy on your self. I have always taken the object away if the child doesn't listen.