Strategies to deal with Squealing

[raquel]

DD who is 14 months has just discovered her ability to squeal....VERY VERY ear piercingly loud.

She does it mostly when she's frustrated or angry about something. It is driving my DH & I bonkers and we don't know what to do! We understand that at this age she's really wanting to do things herself and her cognitive ability isn't up their with her physical ability so it's frustrating. Totally understand that but is there any "scripts" and or things to do that will give her a clear message that squealing is an unacceptable way of expressing her frustration??

Please, help!

[OpalsMom]

Oh man, that just goes right through your head, doesn't it?

At this stage, you can start laying the groundwork for getting rid of the squealing. Reflect her feelings, get her to stomp her feet, offer words, teach her to growl, take her outside to squeal, etc. It takes the edge off. It does not totally get rid of the squealing, which mostly goes away with maturity. At 14 months, you often get to times where if you think about it, you as a grown-up cannot think of any way the kid could express anger that wouldn't be a problem for you. At which point, you're going to have to settle for the least unpleasant. In our house, there were moments at which the horrible high-pitched noise actually won... (If you can't put the kid down and they're too mad to growl, horrible noises are better than hitting and biting.)

It gets better, for everybody, as they get more options...