Screeching- May 15, 2015
Our darling, adorable, bouncing bundle of boy makes our lives amazing. At 18-months old, Henry is saying new words, discovering what he loves (cars, trains, Mama) and antagonizing us with his newest habit.
Screeching. He screeches. So. Loud.
It’s this brain rattling, piercing scream that leaves my ears ringing. There are times in a day I feel like I’ve just left a concert. You know, concerts. They’re those amazing shows with live music and no children. Don’t worry, I almost forgot what they are too.
I would film his screeching and post a video, but I can’t subject the Internet to this sound. It’s horrific. You’re welcome.
He does it anywhere. Most often at home, or in the car but he most loves to make this display in public. He’ll screech. People will look to make sure he’s not being murdered. They say something like, “Wow! He’s very vocal!” Then they quickly get away. Charlotte covers her ears. He does it again and again until he gets the desired effect.
Here’s the thing, I never know exactly what he wants. Attention? Sometimes he’s excited. It’s most often just to make noise. He knows what he wants most of the time. If he wants food or a toy, he whines and cries for the food or toy. But the screeching? I try to just turn away and give him no attention, but he makes it very difficult.
At the pediatrician’s office for his 18-month checkup he started up while we were in the exam room waiting. That was after tearing up the paper on the table, spilling water and pulling every book off the shelf. In the small, sterile room, the screams echoed and hurt my ears even more.
The nurse came in to give him his shots. (Great, that won’t cause more screeching.) I chuckled and said nervously, “Oh, no! I hope this doesn’t make him scream even more.” She said, “That was him?! I thought it was you screaming.”
What?! I just stared at her. Yes, I have an 18-month-old and a 4-year-old. Sometimes I want to scream like that, but did she honestly think that was me?! Whatever, lady.
Anyway, please tell me what you did to stop this? How did you stop this habit in your child? What can I do?! On behalf of my ears, thanks in advance.
Spread it around:
My son started the screeching at roughly 18 months and now at 2.5 years, he’s FINALLY winding down. It’s AWFUL. I tried every trick in the book (ignoring him, giving him what he wants, screaming back at him, time out, etc.) and NOTHING worked. He did it when he was happy, sad, mad, you name it….in his mind, there was no emotion that didn’t justify a scream. (Side note: I did notice that his screaming did flare up when he was getting another round of teeth in. Not sure if it was a way to release the pain, but the shrills definitely flared up and died down according to his teeth). Anyway, my pediatrician said it usually happens with boys. I know girls who scream too, but I’ve never heard the God-awful shrill from them like a toddler boy can make. I have no advice to give other than to ride-it-out. It’s embarrassing to go in public (some old man once told me to “control my kid” while at the grocery store during a round of screaming. Ugh.) These shrills are something only parents of screamers can understand….