Yelling at Stuffed Animals

That sounds so familiar. My daughter started doing that when she was 2, going so far as to pretend her tricycle had said 'no' to her...then she would get mad at the tricycle...it would actually end up in a fight (complete with yelling and hitting)...with a tricycle that hadn't said a word.

I think it's pretty normal. My opinion is that my daughter is just pretending...and trying out new emotions...and I'm just grateful that she's experimenting on her stuffed animals, and not on her baby brother. She never hits him (well, not hard anyhow).

Hope that helps!

My daughter still does this now and then. She most likely hears this somewhere, maybe as forcefully, maybe not. She is just trying things out and making sense of her world thru play. That is what kids do. When my DD does this I remind her that she can be practicing her nice voice and nice words. She can show her friends how to play nicely. Hope that helps.

If I were you I would just encourage her to talk nicely to them. I run a home daycare and there are times that you have to say things forcefully in order for the kids attention, especally if there is a group of children. At her age they really pick up on negative attention. If I were you I would let her know that she should talk nicely to her friends so that she does not hurt their feelings. If she does have the "nned to punish" them, have her use the same "punishment" on her stuffed animals as you do with her.

She's exploring new ways to communicate feelings-whether she heard it or feels it, you can help her find a better way to express herself.

Grab elmo and she can holed ernie and play. Elmo says sorry I took your pen. I forgot to ask if I can please borrow it. I was gonna draw u a picture. Can I pls borrow it?....etc.

Its normal but she needs guidance!

Don't worry, your daughter is fine she is just expanding her verbal skills and learning about life. She may just be learning at daycare about what happens when you take something from someone else and that is wonderful. She does need to learn these things as you know we cannot go over and take something that belongs to or someone else is playing with.
T.

You are not over reacting. SHe is getting it from somewhere. Children act out in their play what goes on in their lives. I would question the caregivers.

She's hearing it from somewhere and is "trying it out", which is normal. At this age, toddlers are experimenting with language and emotion. From a cognitive standpoint, it is wonderful to hear that she is acting-out these scenarios on inanimate objects. That means that she is developing at an appropriate rate.

Having said that, if she's not hearing it at home, then she's hearing it at school or from a television program. Talk with the daycare provider. A quality program will take situations and use them as a teaching opportunity, no matter how young the child may be.

You should also model appropriate responses for your child. When you are playing with her toys and dolls, rememeber to "use your words" and show her ways to ask for a toy, apologize and share. You can only limit her exposure to "bad language" to an extent, so you are well advised to give her the words you prefer her to use in those situations.

My 24 month old son has been yelling at our cats for several months now ("No - down" even when they are sleeping someplace perfectly acceptable). I think since people are forever telling him what he can and cannot do, it gives him a sense of power to tell something else what to do. At daycare, they must be strict and forceful to keep control. I bet your daughter just wants to feel like she has the control with her stuffed animals.

I also was worried that my son was hearing too many "Nos" if that is what he chose to repeat. But just the other day he was playing with a jack-in-the-box and he said, "Mommy, clown is sad." I said "But the clown is smiling." He said "No, clown crying." Then he kissed the clown on the head and broke into a smile and said "I made it better!" Give it a month, and see if your daughter starts to mimic all the nurturing behavior she sees, too.

Yes you are on the right track! I saw behaviors in my child that were not displayed at home and he was not without us unless he was at daycare. I went to the center a couple times unannounced and saw some similar type behaviors from the teachers. Other parents said the same observations they witnessed when there was a change in class rooom w/ their little ones.

You are on the right track. If she is not hearing it at home than she is hearing it somewhere else. Now you just need to find out where. You could ask her outright who says things like that or is she copying from someone she knows. She sounds like she communicates pretty well and she will probably tell you the truth. Then when you have the answer, speak with the person. If it's the daycare center employees, take steps to look for another daycare with a more caring, positive environment.

My 20-month old daughter has very similar practices. She says things like my daddy when her playmates are around or my baby when I go to touch her dolls. She also wants to feed herself and eat and drink from her plate with her fork. My husband and I see these as signs that she's developing her sense of independence. Her primary caretakers are family who are all very gentle with her so my sense is that this is a age appropriate behavior but trust your instinct regarding her daycare.

When our girls would do something out of the ordinary we would ask who talks / does things like that. Sometime the answer is a caregiver but you'll be surprised, sometimes the answer is a friend or a tv character. I would first ask her before approaching the caregiver.

Hi A.,

It could be that there's yelling at her daycare, or it could just be that she's witnessing that inevitable toddler tension over who owns what. If she's an only child, she could be realizing for the first time that more than one kid will want to play with a toy -- and she could be developing mastery over the issue through play -- a very healthy response!

A good daycare should have some sort of window where parents can observe, though. Ask to observe if you're concerned.

Hope this helps,

Mira

I can tell you that when my son started yelling like that, it turned out it was several providers at the day there were talking this way. I discussed it with the day care director and it actually lessened a bit after that, but he still maintained some aggressive behaviors until I finally pulled out out.

This may be normal, but first I would make sure there is not a problem in the day care. Stop by unexpectedly to see what is going on.

I think she's learning about control and trying to exert some. That's really not a bad thing. She is doing it through play. She very well may be getting it from daycare, but I'd suspect the other kids - toddlers/preschoolers will be very verbal if someone touches something of theirs, they are very possessive and the normal reaction is "No, MINE!!!!" often at great volume and with tears. She may simply be seeing and repeating normal toddler behavior. If she seems happy generally and isn't behaving badly, I wouldn't be too concerned. It's good for girls to learn some assertiveness.

Gosh, what could be better than a forceful daughter? With all the pressures she has to contend with now and will have to deal with in future, let her try out her forceful voice now in play. Girls don't always need to be nice. After all, we want them to be forceful about "No" later in life, why not let them get started early?

Not that I am encouraging talking back to you and your husband, but free play should be just that: free. As long as she is not hurting herself or another person, let her work out what she needs to and don't limit her expression.