My 1 year old (just turned 1) is screeching…a lot. It started at the dinner table when she wanted more food so it wasn’t something we could effectively ignore to discourage it. It has morphed and she does it…basically whenever she wants anything. I feel like I missed the boat on teaching her basic sign language. Is she too old for that? What do I do to discourage her from continuing this? I’m trying to ignore it where I can but again, at the table, not so much an option.

Anonymous wrote:My 1 year old (just turned 1) is screeching…a lot. It started at the dinner table when she wanted more food so it wasn’t something we could effectively ignore to discourage it. It has morphed and she does it…basically whenever she wants anything. I feel like I missed the boat on teaching her basic sign language. Is she too old for that? What do I do to discourage her from continuing this? I’m trying to ignore it where I can but again, at the table, not so much an option.

not sure why you can't ignore at table but if you know what she's trying to communicate start saying "more more" with some signing(my kid did her own sign for more ... but as long as she was communicating clearly i didn't care)

It’s not too old for signing.

Our third kid was a screecher. Started around one and mostly grew out of it around 1.5. We just ignored it because nothing we did would stop him from doing it.

Ah, the screeching phase – fun times, right? As for discouraging the screeching, consistency is key. Try redirecting her attention to more appropriate ways of asking for things, like using words or signs. When she does screech, calmly acknowledge her feelings ("I know you're hungry, sweetie") but don't give in to the request until she tries a different approach.

We called it the dinosaur phase. It was mostly about finding her voice but I agree it’s not too late for signing and “more” was the only one we did.

I would teach the sign for more and the simplified version of help. Get a set of earplugs. When she screeches at the table put your hands over your ears and gently shake your head no. Demonstrate sign for more and hand over hand help her to do it. Then provide more.

Oh yeah- just ignore the Terydactyl at the table and give positive reinforcement when baby is not screeching

Anonymous wrote:Oh yeah- just ignore the Terydactyl at the table and give positive reinforcement when baby is not screeching

+1 but also yes this is a terrible phase; hope it passes quickly for you OP

Teach her to say and sign for more.

Have no idea if this will work for another kid, but we let our child spend a decent chunk of alone time in the crib before we go in each morning, and there's usually some squawking or "singing" happening during that solo time. It's a lot cuter coming over the monitor than it can be in a moment of stress later in the day, in our experience!

The other thing we try, per our wonderful former nanny, is asking many yes/no questions. Again, not always possible when patience is wearing thin, I do understand, but for us the screeching was a definite cry for help/communication. Still happens occasionally but much less frequently during the day.

Anonymous wrote:Oh yeah- just ignore the Terydactyl at the table and give positive reinforcement when baby is not screeching

+1

It’s also a good time to teach the “more” sign.

Theatrically run away! "Aaahh you made mommy crazy!" then run somewhere and shut the door.