Face grabbing/tantrums
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I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong. My LO is a face grabber/ scratcher. It’s so painful 😣 I don’t know how to teach ‘gentle hands’ either
@Loren not that it works but how I taught ‘gentle hands’ is I’d stroke her gentle when she’s in a good mood and say gentle hands then Willow do and eventually she’d do it back and I’d praise. It doesn’t work in the moment though 😭 Honestly I’m so lost with how to handle it because it overwhelmed me so much sometimes I even shout because it catches me off guard and I feel so shit after because me shouting scares her 🫠
I’m so sorry, that sounds so tricky 😕 you’re not doing anything wrong: your daughter is growing so rapidly and learning constantly. She’s feeling these massive feelings and doesn’t know what to do with them. When mine hits I very firmly say “no” and shake my head no, keeping eye contact, repeating no a few times. And if I notice she’s getting mad (this doesn’t always work 😅) I try to diffuse the situation by asking “are you mad?” And making an exaggerating grumpy face. This sometimes makes her giggle but I also hope she’s making the association of the word to what she’s feeling. I also find it helps to redirect to something she can do—she can’t grab Mum’s face when she’s upset but she can kick a ball, hit a pillow.
@Meghan really good way of redirecting with a ball or pillow I’ll try that one out, I’m glad it’s not just me going through this I was questioning where I went wrong, seems it’s the next step in development 💖
She gets plenty of outdoor and exercise because I have two dogs we are out minimum 2 times a day for walks in the woods, she’s not allowed screentine or sugar so I make sure she’s got plenty to do.. it seems to be when I say no