Any advice on a child that screams?

My son just turned two and screaming for him is not out of the usual. But I’m just wondering if anyone has any advice. This boy will scream so loud for so long that my ears will ring.

Example.
He was screaming while I was loading the dryer. A shirt fell on the floor I said get it, he screamed. I picked it up and put it in his hands, he screamed, he didn’t want it. I grabbed dryer sheets and offered him to smell and throw it in ( it’s just something we do) he didn’t want it. He screamed. By this time I’m just done so I slide him out of the way and start the dryer. But he will now scream for the next 20mins at the top of his lungs in front of the dryer. Send a prayer and some advice please

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Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. Any advice on a child that screams?

My grandson screams I think it’s normal. He’s 2 1/2

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Tell your pediatrician

Honestly I would cover my ears and act like it causes me pain. Perhaps he will be sympathetic and stop .

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Start screaming at him see how he likes that ish :rofl:

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My niece is 2 and has issues screaming for the tiniest things. Shrieking even. But I’ve recently noticed she lightens up if somebody gives her undivided attention. Seems a little dictative, I know, but kids need what kids need…and sometimes it means absolute wholehearted attention. Maybe try to clean and do chores when he’s sleeping, so that you can give him as much uninterrupted attention while he’s awake. Just be extra smiley, offer toys, etc. And hopefully you should see some small change. :purple_heart:

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May have a sensory disorder

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My two year old son screams NON stop. Every day. From the time he wakes up until he goes to bed. Ear piercing, top of the lungs, tantrum, screaming. I’ve tried everything. I totally understand girl.

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He might be autistic…

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My son started doing this and I completely ignore him and leave the room. He screamed for about three days and quickly didn’t get the attention toon he was looking forward.

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It could be signs for sensory processing disorder. I would talk about it with your doctor. My son has SPD and he will scream to have control over loud noises. One thing that helps is noise canceling headphones.

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I’d get some foam ear plugs and where them all the time lol.

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Big feelings for such a little guy to figure out! My son would do the the same thing. Could be sensory overload. My son would get mad and do the same thing. Don’t touch me don’t look at me pretty much. So I would take him to his room and set him down and tell him it was okay to feel mad or sad and that I would be in the living room when he was ready. To them negative attention is the same as positive attention so redirecting them and letting him know its okay to feel this way and mommy will be here when your ready is what I did! Took about 2 weeks for him to realize I didn’t respond to his screaming and fits and they faded. Good luck mama! It takes a village to raise these babies!:smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Omgosh hang in there. My boy screams too and to be honest every poor I know has done the same thing at the around the same age. I can only suggest to ignore it and hopefully it lessens and stops quicker cos of it

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Don’t know what to tell you but dryer sheets smells way too strong, all chemicals. He may be sensitive to noise, bright lights and smells. Why did you handle him a wet shirt?
Take him away from the laundry room to a calm odorless space and take time with him

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We go in designated scream walks. Legit. And I also have ear plugs because OMG lol

Smack his mouth he will stop :stop_sign:

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Bless your sweet momma heart. I have no advice, as i did not deal with that when my child was 2, but i wish you all the luck in the world. Sending peaceful vibes your way. Alittle prayer that you can find some answers. But i just wanted to drop a comment and tell you are doing an amazing job at being a mom and I am sure this stage will pass. :heart:

Following because I also have a 2 year old boy who screams like this

Talk to his doc; if he’s fine, tell him to go on his room until be stops. Don’t reward bad.

My 3 yr old does this and oh my hell I swear he could break glass! I taught mine that screaming is for outside or into a pillow. So we have a “screaming pillow” that we use when he gets mad. ( Sometimes it works and sometimes it makes it worse) I will say, " I’m sorry you’re having big feelings but we can only scream into a pillow or outside so when you are ready we will talk but right now you I need you to get your pillow or we have to go outside until you’re done screaming"

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Rule out a medical reason. I found that one of my kids had a medical reason for his tantrums. However I also found that showing him how silly he looks by secretly recording it and later showing it to him when he was calm. I explained that I didn’t understand what he wanted and that using his words was way easier for both of us. It’s how he understood it. He was three when I tried this out of desperation.

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Tell him it hurts your ears and makes your ears feel sad when he does this

Probably teething. Some children’s advil and a frozen teething ring would have helped. Also it’s called terrible 2’s for a reason. They can’t express themselves yet so they get frustrated. Once language comes along they get better. In the meantime lots of walks so they get plenty of fresh air. This helps them sleep better. Put kids music on. They love it. Have plenty of toys on hand.

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How old ?
Sometimes it can be a sensory thing or and OCD type thing (I have 9 kids and 2 each has this problem)
If he’s non verbal then that’s his way for saying he’s frustrated or upset
U can whisper when he does that, like “we do t scream, I know your upset but until u stop yelling then mamas gonna whisper”
It’s letting him know u hear and understand him but won’t give into his tantrums

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Try whispering back to him and if he is interested in what you are saying, he will stop yelling so he can hear you. Do NOT yell back. As long as he is not hurt, “allow” him to yell for a bit. If he is in a common room in the house and is disturbing other’s joy, I would calmly say as I walk him or carry him to his room as I say: I understand you are upset and are yelling but you can’t yell in my living room ( or my kitchen, or my laundry room, etc) but you can finish yelling in your room. Hopefully without an audience he will lose the thrill if this is just a phase.
Try this a week or so. See if there is a difference. Make some notes.
If no difference, talk with his doctor.

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Whooooa! Just how loud and for how long can a 2yrs old toddler scream? Smh

Is this child overwhelmed? You are mentioning a change in sound, then touch, then smell, and then the child screams at the “source” of all of this… the dryer. :disappointed:

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Just let him scream. You know he is alright and not hurt. Eventually he will learn screaming doesn’t get him anything. I pray your nerves will hold up.

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https://www.olivebranchschool.com/2020/12/12/tantrums-vs-frustration-fits-how-to-handle-them/

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My son did that. I’d tell him to stay in his room until he was done. An he learned to come out when he was finished. For a while we would tell him everyone was looking at him. An he’d stop. But after a while it didn’t work anymore. I swear I lost hearing over all the screaming. People would say ignore him. But that’s hard to do. Best of luck to you. The 1st 5yrs were the hardest w him.

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I made a chart for one month. Every day that my son did not throw a temper tantrum he got a gold star sticker on his chart. If he only threw one, he got a silver star sticker, etc…(I just used a packet of the little star stickers that teachers used to use on our papers.)We would put the sticker on at night before he went to bed. He loved it! At the end of the month he got a hot wheels car. I only had to do this for a couple months and screaming tantrum’s stopped. He was getting a very small reward and praise for his good behavior.

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Could he possibly have hearing troubles?

Try blowing in his face, gently. It will make him gasp and look at you like what did you do to me. And laugh see if he laughs with you. Tell him, screaming isn’t ok, it hurts our ears. And try a calm activity like coloring. Or you can say, I’m sorry you’re upset. But if you stop we can snuggle and feel better or you can sit here and cry by yourself. And maybe if he insists on crying he may be tired, and just let him cry it out. But I would definitely let him know it is unwanted behavior.

More sleep, maybe. Only time mine is fussy or acts out really is when he is over tired. If he takes naps or sleeps enough at night he’s a ray of sunshine. If he doesn’t, well help us all. :smile:

Put him in his room or a chair and calmly tell him he can come out of his room or get off the chair once he’s done screaming. If he comes out of either place and continues to scream keep putting him back but don’t say nothing n once he’s done screaming then get down to his level and tell him screaming is not nice and hurts mommy’s ears.

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My daughter was great at home but when out at the shops all she used to do was scream. Had her ears checked and everything was fine. She just didn’t like shopping. I hated it though. She settled once I put her in daycare a free days a week. I miss babies but so glad that parts over all the same. Good luck x

He is frustrated can he communicate well or talk ?

I’ve been through that before, non verbal for three first few years mine would scream, screech. Therapist suggested things like, blowing bubbles, chewing bubble gum maybe showing him how to sing? The screaming was a form of trying to communicate could possibly consider sign language as well. Hope these tips helps.

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Sensory overload? Have you consistently noticed this being his reaction during things/environment/surroundings that may be overwhelming him?
How is his speech? Could he be screaming out of frustration from not being able to communicate his needs or feelings?

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He could be overwhelmed or have a sensory issue.
My boys didn’t scream, they would just cry, and cry, and cry.
Some days after trying multiple things under the sun to calm them down, I would cry with them and hold them.
With my oldest it was because he had 7 ear infections within a year. This caused speech delay.
With my 2nd son, he just would get too overwhelmed.
Maybe try sign language. That is what my oldest sons Dr recommended before he had tubes put in his ears.
It did help!
And good luck mommas.

My daughter was like this. Her speech was behind so she literally screamed all the time. There didn’t need to be a reason. She just screamed. Got her eyes checked & she’s almost blind. She got glasses. It was rough at first. The screaming got worse for about a week (I don’t really remember how long). But then she calmed down. She also began catching onto vocabulary more. My theory is that not being able to see well was confusing. I’d say pick that shirt up & she’d just see blobs. She couldn’t see a shirt to pick up. Life in general was confusing. Then she couldn’t see our lips move as we spoke so she couldn’t learn to form words but knew what she wanted to say. That’s frustrating. All she could do is scream. Anyway that’s just my theory. All I know for sure is that after she got used to her glasses she calmed down a lot. Her vocab increased very quickly too. I recommend getting his vision & hearing checked. If a sense is impaired that can affect behavior.

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Might sound screwed up but do not acknowledge it. Once he sees that it doesn’t bother you he’ll stop. But if he’s getting attention he’ll keep doing it. Trust me I know it’s hard to ignore but you have to do it

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Are you in Uganda? If yes, handle him in an African manner. Only African mothers can understand this

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Do you have a front loading washer? If so turn it on and try to draw his attention away from the screaming. My son at that age loved watching the water turning round and round and the soap bubbles. He still does like to watch it and he is now 5 years old.

Maybe stop giving in to him when he screams just walk away I’ve learnt this after 4 they stop crying then give him something to do or talk to him it’s kind of like rewarding the screaming

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Things you should ask yourself is this something new that he’s doing
What if anything has changed new babysitter change in schedule tension in the house. If the answer is no then you can chalk it up to a power struggle. When mine went through that stage I would just walk away. Get yourself some ear plugs and hang in there
In case no one has told you you are doing a great job.

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We go outside. Sometimes they have some energy or wiggles to get out and that’s all they can do to get it out. We practice inside voices, so of he screams we just go outside! Then he screams, i scream, we both scream, and it becomes a laughing, bonding moment! Or I’ll gently pat his mouth when he’s screaming so it makes that ah-ah-ah sound and he thinks it’s funny and laughs and can’t scream anymore

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Ugh, thank god I’m not alone!! My daughter (turning 2 in Feb) will scream (I think just to hear herself) but it’s so loud it will sound like she’s gonna loose her voice! She has a speech delay due to fluid in her ears (never had ear infection in her life) but she will be getting tubes soon. Like mentioned above, I don’t give it any attention and she stops shortly after…when it first started I would always try to correct her and it would go on for what seemed like forever. And if she wakes up in the night…she plays in her crib and has screaming matches with herself…I live in a townhome and all I can think is “my poor neighbors”but even then, I give it no attention.

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Don’t give into it. Totally ignore him when screaming unless he is or you think he is hurt. Screaming is going to hurt your brain but he will stop eventually.

I do acknowledge that she’s unhappy but I let her ride out her need to express herself. If she wants to be held I hold her but other than that I just try my best to understand that it’s something she needs to do right now. It’s hard at the best of times and almost impossible at the worst but stay gentle, hold him, give him a kiss and just let him express whatever he just needs to get out of his system.

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Leave him alone. You’re bothering him

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Maybe he has a medical issue?? Kids dont know how to tell us sometimes

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My son did a lot of screaming at an early age, we were concerned about it since our oldest did not behave in that manner during those early stages. He ended up being diagnosed with autism. Something to think about, possibly

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My daughter has SPD (sensory processing disorder) but never screamed especially for 20 minutes… however I do know children with autism who do this and than I also know when a baby finds their voice they scream :woman_shrugging:t2: babies can’t talk… is he screaming from loud noises or just to do it??

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Walk away don’t talking or play

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My 2 year old does this because of her speech delay and she gets frustrated that she can’t communicate. I just get down to her level, hug her and ask her what’s the matter. She likes the hugs so it usually calmed her down

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Checkout Big Little Feelings. They are super helpful in handling situations like this.

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My two year old screams any time be sees a cat or kitten. If our cat walks in the room, scream. And it’s this high pitched, ear ringing shriek. If we go to my brother’s house and he sees their kittens, he runs toward them and screams in excitement. He will walk up to our cat and scream a conversation with him. He does it some at other times too but it’s in a good natured way. He is just discovering his voice and I suppose be thinks the cats can hear him better or appreciate that he is aware of their presence and is excited about it. Sometimes he will scream out of frustration like your child did when you handed him the dryer sheet. In that case, I don’t try to include him again until he is ready. It’s become a thing because we think it’s cute how he screams about cats. Probably not the best thing but the cats like the attention once the initial startle passes lol.

Just ignore him and go and do something else leave him to it he will soon get fed up

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I use a time out chair with my 2 yo granddaughter. It has helped but she still screams. I also try the “shhhh” with my finger over my mouth and tell her someone even the dog is sleeping. She loves that and instantly stops and tells everyone “shhhh” doggie sleep :joy: hood luck momma

I use to pop that butt if they didn’t stop after that put them in their room and say “ have fun “ shut the door

Sounds like you need to get him to see his pediatrician and possibly a behavioral pediatrician or neurologist. Could be a wide range of problems. Get the appointments as soon as possible.

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Sounds like he feels misunderstood.

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My three year old daughter is the same way. She’s almost 4. Everything makes her scream and cry and I’ve tried everything. Wine helps for momma :sweat_smile:

Sometimes it might take Mama to scary the bejesus out of him and just walk up to him and spank his little Haney

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My son did that (still does occasionally). Everything is a phase, hang in there you are not alone. It’s a lot of big emotions our little people are trying to figure out.

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I have 5 little ones at home and my toddler hates loud noises like dryers, vacuums, blenders etc. She will cover her ears and scream.
I would remove your child from the environment and return to the task at a later time. It’s possible they have sensory issues and screaming is their only way to communicate.

If you live in the USA and this screaming continues and you feel it’s something more then just toddler screaming, contact your local “Early On”. It’s a program run through the local school districts for children 0 to 3 years old. They do evaluation on children to see if they qualify for services.
My daughter was diagnosed as severely speech delayed and we found out that screaming was her way of communicating her discomfort.

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Put him outside closed d door…keep an eye on hm…immediate effect lol or whip his ass…now ar days kids beating their parents bad bad bad

I’d walk away from him and leave him right there. The more you feed into it the more he’ll do it cuz he’s getting more than what he wants. My kids will normally chase after me and I just repeatedly tell them I’m not talking to you while you’re screaming like that.

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It’s time to get him evaluated. This is not normal Behavior and it sounds like he may have some sensory issues or maybe even more. He is 2 so it could definitely be nothing but it’s worth getting checked out

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Ear plugs! Helps you keep your sanity lol

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Does he have a speech delay? My son was like that at 2 and ended up being because he couldn’t express himself

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Try not to react. Put him in his room and walk away.

My oldest was the same, had a speech impediment so he was just frustrated that he couldn’t communicate. Luckily it passes & thank God for his school having a speech therapist that worked with him when he was finally school age, she was a miracle worker!

Just tell him it’s not acceptable and tell him when he’s ready to use his big boy words then walk away.

Flick water in his face, I promise the child will stop. I was at my witts end with mine. Did this and it stopped.

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He’s frustrated. If he isn’t talking yet it could be the cause. My oldest and youngest both have speech issues. My youngest just turned 3. He still screams when he’s frustrated or we aren’t understanding the point he’s trying to get across. Tell him he needs to calm down, then you can talk, walk away. Let him cool off then try again. Offer lots of options and give him 5-15 seconds to answer after each option, depending on how long it usually takes him to answer a yes/no question, you have to judge the amount of time you give him to answer. A lot of the time there are non verbal cues they give you that really help but it all comes down to observe, wait, listen (OWL). This is what they teach you in early intervention for speech therapy.

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Little kids test boundaries. He’s testing you. You need to explain to him that it is unacceptable behavior unless he is hurt and therefore if he screams for any reason other than being hurt he gets a time out. One minute per year of age in the same spot over and over again. You don’t scream, you don’t yell, you don’t get angry, you just put them in the time out and start the timer. Look up the Supernanny and watch the show. It absolutely 100% works. And my pediatrician told me that timeouts can start at one year of age.

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…a glass of water in the face works.

Just sayin…

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Depends. Does your son have an diagnoses? Any sensitivity to certain noises? There’s no such thing as “feeding in” to the behavior. It’s about figuring out if the child is continuously triggered by certain noises or areas of the home. Could be sensory too. I work with kids that have autism and have my own daughter who struggles with behavior and harming. I promise 99% of the kids doing this don’t want to be doing it, they just don’t know how to handle it.

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It seems like he found screaming to be his new favorite thing. It really depends on ur reaction. If u laugh he thinks it’s playful so he’s going to continue to do it. U need to remind him we don’t scream we use our voice to ask for things. And even put him time out for screaming. U don’t want him to be screaming out in public. He can scream during play time outside but please remind him that screaming is not used to get what he wants.

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He needs for you to understand him especially if he isn’t talking! And walking away isn’t going to help he still didn’t get his message across

I would put my kid in her room and go about my stuff in the rest of the house

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Scream with him…that seems fair enough.

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I would ignore him when he screams. Only respond or interact if he’s not screaming. Explain that it’s not acceptable form of communication. Kids do weird things :joy:

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Pick him up and just hold him. He doesn’t want “things”, He wants YOU.

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This has worked with all 3 of my kids and my 2 grandkids. Pick him up and yell “Run Away”!! while heading into a different room, Like something scared you! Then look at him and say OMG WHAT WAS IT? Can you tell Mommy? Then slowly walk back to where the screaming started, asking him on the way if he can show you what scared him cause we only scream when we are scared. Do not ever walk away and leave him screaming when you don’t know the reason for it. Act like you will protect him from whatever it is so he calm down for you to help him help you understand. Unless he is screaming while throwing a temper tantrum because you told him NO. If that is the case, then stand there and hide your face with your hands and say I can’t believe you’re acting like that, I can’t stand it to watch you act like that, it hurts my eyes! Act like you can’t even see the tantrum cause it’s blinding you. If you can’t see the tantrum there’s no point in throwing one even if you can hear it, he’s watching you to see if you’re watching him. The screaming is to get you to look at him not so much to hear him.

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My one year old also loves to death scream. It fucking sucks. I’ve started popping him in the mouth when he’s screaming for no reason. He’s started not screaming as much because he realized if he’s death screaming and something is not wrong, I’ll likely pop him in the mouth. FYI there is nothing wrong with my son. He’s just a dick. He realized that death screaming gets reactions our of everyone in the house so he started doing it all the time. Now he’s realizing that death screaming isn’t okay unless something is actually wrong (besides not getting his way)

Tap him in the mouth

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A tap on the butt will cure it :rofl:

I’m afraid all you can do is contact Guns and Roses and see if they’re looking for a new lead singer

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Ignore it. Walk away. Its attention seeking. Every time he does it he prob gets a reaction from you. When he sees that you’re not reinforcing the behavior by giving him the attention hes looking for it will stop.

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My son did this, constantly interrupted, screamed, stood between me and whoever I was talking to, blocked tv… And so I tried reason to no such luck (aspergers, ADHD, anxiety, sensory) so one day at my Witt’s end during an interruption day I started doing it to him. He would start talking and I would interrupt. He would go to do something and I would interrupt. And after about week he caught on and started realizing what I was doing. But he still screamed and blocked tv and when I tried talking to someone he was silent but made it so we couldn’t see each other. So I decided to do it all back. I mirrored his behaviors. But not screaming at first but eventually did. Few months later he looked me dead in the eye and told me I was ridiculous. And it stopped. Sounds nasty but tried and had enough.

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Pick him up and put him firmly " not hard , but assertive , in a chair on the couch or wherever than walk away but if he keeps getting up you keep putting him back , and ignore him, you have to set boundaries now while he’s so young or you’ll have the biggest bratty kid ever

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Its hard with a 2yo . Especially if they’re not talking. All you can do is watch and see if there’s a trigger for the behaviour or if its just something he does.
My son screamed …for nothing. Honestly he was the biggest brat ever :roll_eyes: …hes 27 now and still a brat but at least there’s no more screaming :grin:
I just didn’t pamper to him. He screamed and there was nothing wrong
I told him…mummy loves you lots but im not putting up with this noise. Into your room till you quiet down please . He came out screaming he got put back in. Didnt take him long to learn he wasn’t getting mums attention with that behaviour .

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Give him something to scream about its called a belt

When my kids would scream really loud in the car if I was driving I would just turn the radio up so I couldn’t hear them there all adults now lol.:woman_shrugging:

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