AboutCathy Bailey Expertise I can answer questions on dealing with the difficult behavior of babies, toddlers, preschoolers, school children and teenagers.
I can also help with issues such as bed wetting, head lice, thumb sucking and other childhood concerns.
I can offer advice on children and homework, communicating with your child’s teacher and coping with bullying, amongst other school issues.
If there is a parenting issue I can’t answer, I am honest about it, and try my best to refer the questioner to somewhere where they can find an answer.
I am the author of www.parents-in-a-pickle.com a website dedicated to helping parents deal with challenging and difficult behavior.
Experience I am a mother of two boys, aged 13 and 7. My husband and I have fostered various children and we have adopted one (the 7 year old).
I have been a teacher since 1991, both in secondary schools, and now in a primary school.
I have run various language clubs in nurseries, teaching French and Spanish through games, songs and other fun activities.
Education/Credentials I have a BA Honors Degree from London University in French and Spanish, and a P.G.C.E. (teaching qualification) from Cambridge University.
Expert: Cathy Bailey Date: 5/13/2008 Subject: Head banging baby
Question My 10 month old granddaughter is very bright. She been walking since 8 months and can string 2 words together. She is so adorable but definitely has a devilish side too. When told no no, she'll repeat it with a devilish grin and do it anyway, then take off running the moment she sees you heading her way. The problem is, she has recently begun dropping to her knees and repeatedly banging her head when she gets mad or frustrated! What do we do?
Answer Hi Debi
It seems your granddaughter is starting to have tantrums! Although they are called the ‘terrible two’s’, they actually do start before a child is two and often as young as your granddaughter! (By the way - they go on a lot longer than 2 as well sometimes!)
As she is very young, some of the suggestions on my website, such as using ‘time-out’, are not yet appropriate for her. You may however find it useful to read as there is information which can apply to children of any age: http://www.parents-in-a-pickle.com/parenting-advice-toddler.html
My advice would be to simply ignore the behavior you want to minimize, and completely ignore any sign of temper or tantrum. This is not always easy to do, if you are feeling cross, or anxious that she will hurt herself - but rest assured, she won’t do herself any damage.
You will need to pretend not to notice or turn away so that her behavior gets no attention at all. On the other hand, when she does behave well, you can make sure she gets lots of attention!
This technique won’t work over night, but it will work quite quickly to ensure the tantrums are kept to a minimum. It won’t mean she will never have them - being a toddler is a frustrating time - but at least she will have them for real frustrations rather than just for fun to see your reaction!
