Testing

Timmy knows what 'no' means. He just doesn't care. I'm not entirely sure what to do about that and how to convince him that listening to me is, well, the right thing to do. Any suggestions?

There are a number of things that Timothy will just continue to do despite the knowledge that he shouldn't do it. Like when he is no longer hungry, he likes to drop his food on the floor. I say no and then he stares straight at me holds his hand out with a fistful of food and lets 'er rip. Often, he tilts his head to the left right before he does something he shouldn't, so at least I have warning. He loves to crawl under the computer table and pull at cords and his new favorite game is pulling the cover off the speaker and drag it around the house similarly to the bread peel you see above.

Safety issues are what really get me. Timothy has been great about standing at the top of the stairs and then pointing to tell me he wants to go down, never making a move to try it on his own. Of course, I'm always right there with him, so he doesn't have that much of an opportunity to try it. Today, I was in the bathroom emptying a diaper but had my eye on the little guy who was on the move. He had been pushing around a xylophone in his bedroom when I snuck out, but then he headed to the top of the stairs. We made eye contact, I said no and told him to wait for me, he hesitated and then moved his little foot over the next step down. Fortunately, it was in slow motion and I was doing the leap through the air as he was about to lose his balance. I caught him just in time, he seemed a little surprised but didn't fuss a bit.

I wish it had scared him, though. Maybe he would be a little more willing to follow what he clearly understands I'm saying. Seriously, any suggestions for enforcing 'no' to a one year old?

Anyway, doesn't he look so grown up here??? These are his first two piece pajamas!