Is there a better way to teach your kids not to touch things ?

I feel your pain! I'm babysitting two little girls, both around 18 months. Most of the day is spent chasing them around, taking objects out of their hands, and I swear I say, "No-no" at least 50 times a day. The thing with children is I think they react to the tone of your voice, the pitch, etc. They don't know what words mean, so you have to count on actions and the way you say something to inform them. You can't tell them, "no" in a regular voice, they think you're playing around and they'll continue doing whatever it is they're doing. I'm not saying you should scream at the top of your lungs, but what I do is I just raise my voice a little, and sternly say, No. If they don't listen I go to them and take the object away. If they STILL continue I resort to giving them a light swat on their butt or hand, not enough to make them cry, mind you. They've gotten to the point where they'll go to touch an object that I've told them no about before, look at me, and see how I'm looking at them, and just walk away from it. Good Luck!

the best way we found is to keep things out of reach that would be of a danger for them. The things that could be harmful should never be accessible to them in any way. I kept the kitchen cabinet doors locked with these handy things you can purchase at any dept store in the baby section. The children are very observant and curious, what they cant have they want more. a very good communication with your toddler or child is extremely important! Never leave them totally unattended for any length of time./.. it only takes a minute for a fatal accident to occur!

I try to keep everything possible out of my 18 month old sons reach. Saying "No" works better than saying "don't touch". "Don't touch" seems to make my son rebel and grab anything he can get his hands on. If he gets something i don't want him to, i take it off him and kneel down to his height and tell him "No don't touch that". He sometimes goes back to it, but after a few times he learn't and stopped touching it for a few days. I have to keep being persistant and it works. ~Joeys wife

Before I reply, I'd like to let you know that I am a mother of 6 (5 girls, 1 boy). I was raised by a single parent in a religious family. And even though you may or may not approve of what I'm about to say, at least you have the information. Well, first off it sort of matters if you are babysitting a family member, friends child, or a strangers child. The reason it matters is because you have more leiway with family and sometimes friends children. Secondly, how does the parent(s) discipline this child? Are they having the same problem with the touching issue? And thirdly, you have to remember the child is slowly approaching the "terrible two's". This is the right time when the children begin to learn what they should and shouldn't touch. And age three doesn't get any better. Those are the "trying three's", because they try your patience and try to see what they can get away with. As for me, what I have done, ever since my first born, was flick their hands or fingers as I was telling them NO, and why they shouldn't touch it. I came up with this idea on the spur of a moment when my child and I were in the mall and she kept wanting to touch things that I couldn't afford to buy if damaged. I briefly recalled when I was a child that my mom would give me and my brother indian burns, well..those hurt like heck, and therefore didn't feel that was an option. So, for some reason (don't know why) I raised my hand in the flicking position and flicked her. She cried briefly (not even a minute). I think it shocked her more than anything. Well, let's just say, that by age 2 1/2, I no longer had to flick her, all I had to do was put my fingers in the position and say "Do you want me to flick you"? And of course, the response was no or head shaking no. I found this to be helpful with each child. In fact I still use it today. My kids are 15,12,10,8,6 and 7 months. Of course the 7 month old hasn't had her turn yet, but it's coming. But the others? Oh yes, all I have to do is say " Do you want me to flick you"? And they straighten right up, no matter what the situation. Whether they are horsing around when they should be cleaning their room, acting up in public place, or being mouthy, the indication that they might get flicked, changes them. The concept behind the flicking though, is the same as my mother doing the indian burn. It doesn't make a scene in public. However, I think my flicking is better because it doesn't leave any marks, therefore not abusive (not that I feel I was abused, but in today's society we have to be careful). And finally, a major thing you have to do is change the tone of your voice. You can not use a feminine voice. This is why fathers are usually the best disciplinarinan. The deep voice can do wonders. So whether you use the flicking trick or not, make sure you use a deep voice when saying NO. Trust me, the sound of voice does wonders. That and calling them by their middle name, then every child knows you mean business. I hope this was helpful to you. Please feel free to contact me anytime.

When you say eyes only accompany it with glaring eyes so that they'll know that you mean business. I did this to my nephew and he did obey but he's much older and wiser. He likes to make fun of us. So when I glare at him he knows that I'm not playing games with him this time. I don't know if this is really the right thing to do but it works for me.

I've tried all of these suggestions on here with my 2 year old boy and nothing helps- he is just wild and driving me crazy- He listens to his dad fine and me he ignores! :( I'm ready to give up but I will continue searching for a way to stop it- I can't put every single thing in my house away- I don't have the room! Yep, it's a nightmare! :)

i would say NO with a firm voice a couple times and if they continue to touch it i would slap thier hand and if they cried oh well. they need to learn. and i dont beleive that kids that age only hear the last word in a sentence...sounds dumb

i know from when i have been looking after my nephew that sometimes children dont listen. but in the end he usually does. like not he has learnt not to touch the gas fire and radiators. he now just points to them and says "hot"....so obviously children do pay attention when you try to cheach them to not do things

I phsyically remove my childrens hands and say no touching. Simple very simple phrases. No touching. If its dangerous i sound much louder and angry and generally the child dosent go back to it. Or like my oldest, touch the hot fireplace and get a slight burn. But he didnt touch it again. You just have to keep up it. To keep at it. Its an every day thing that you have to keep doing.

We have an 18 month old & the word we always used (from the moment she could crawl) was NO - just keep it short & sweet at NO & they will get the idea. If you say NO & they try to go back, say it again - if you say NO in the first place & they stop, try giving them a toy or drink even so they have something else to amuse themselves with! Also, as i said we started with the NO thing from the moment she could crawl & she started crawling around 6 months old - the older she got & the better she got on her feet etc, the more we pushed the fact that she could only touch the things that were hers! At 18 months things are pretty good, you get the occasional time where she likes to be cheeky but otherwise she's pretty good. The earlier you start, the easier it is for you! Good Luck though!

Well i don't have kids yet but my parents told us that when we were little and we touched things which we werent allowed to touch because of the danger they just gave us a small hit on the hand not hard but just to say that if we touched things it could be dangerous and hurt us. Well it really worked they also explained why not so that's good. Maybe that helps to explain why they can't touch things.

I say to use the corner. Most kids will learn from the pop of a hand. I do not use punishment like that with my kids. I put them into the corner for maybe a few minutes. They seem to learn from that. After they get done in the corner I talk to them about what they did and how it was wrong. But a lot of the time, just talking and saying no touch will not work.

One of the many ways young children learn is by touching. When you stop them from touching, you hinder their learning process. Most parents encourage their children to learn everything they can as soon as they can. A better way for you, would be to encourage them to touch, but move the untouchable things out of sight. Of course they will rebel against the No touch thing. It goes against their natural learning instincts.

It is difficult to make small kids understand things. When we say do not touch things they might try to do that. It is better to keep dangerous things out of reach of children. It is better to make the place safe for kids. A 17 month old kid is very small and cannot understand sometimes. I feel as they grow up, they will learn things seeing us being careful while doing things. Keep things that is harmful for them, out of reach. Remember that whenever u say no they will surely try it. :)

I think kids at this age are just difficult, really. There are some children who will obey this early, but they are fairly compliant children, who won't be much of a hassle later on.. (: Kids just don't have self-control this early, and the certainly don't retain the knowledge of "don't touch" as often as we would like. I find that I remind my youngest (15 months) every day not to touch the christmas tree, and once I smack his hand for it he usually will leave it alone, although my hubby caught him peering around the corner for him or I and once he thought we'd left the room, he ran over to the christmas tree and was about to touch it, when he noticed my hubby. THen he ran away from it crying and screaming! (: I think having patience and being willing to put some things up at this age, is key, but also, trying to find something that will work to keep them out of danger. We smacked both of our son's hands when it came to something dangerous.. I remember smacking my oldest when he was about 18 months on the hand 10-11 times, b/c he would not leave the outlet alone, I would distract him, I would take him to another room, I would do everything that I could, but he would go back to it as soon as he could, and try to play with it. His little hand was beat red, but to me, I would much rather their little hands be red, then for them to get hurt badly.

I taught my kids the word no do not touch and if they continued to touch I would smack their hands and say do not touch or must not touch it did work and I do it with my grandbabies yet today and it still works the first word other than mommy or daddy that my sons learned was the word no

I've been told to let them do it so they learn faster. I strongly disagree, I treat my 18th month son just like I'd want to be treated. sure sometimes he still does touch something but 9 times out 10 he listens and reacts to the tone of my voice. I think, if we show them that it'll hurt them without allowing them to get hurt but stick at it they'll understand. ~Joey

Yeah that is true. Children between the ages of birth-5 only pay attention to the last thing you say. I have taken early childhood education in college and working on my level 3. SO for example if you say "dont run" then all they hear is the "run" part. That is when you say something like "Walk Please"... Also what kind of stuff are they trying to touch? Is it expensive non baby stuff then might I suggest to move it to a place where they can't touch it or see it. Also a child at that age is in the stage of life where they love to learn and explore the world through hands on experiences. Or maybe get them objects that they can touch all they want.