Redirection and teaching.

Redirect the behaviour. So if she is touching the phone, instead of saying no, take her hand and move her away to another area where she can play with toys. Or give her her own little phone to play with.

Instead of saying no try rephrasing it. Instead of "no don't bang it", say "try and be gentle" while showing the behaviour you want (taking her hand and showing her gentle)

If she is constantly touching the same thing and it's possible, move it out of her reach. If she is always taking your remotes put them higher. This will save stress on you.

Lastly teach her where possible to use things. If she is always playing with the TV or DVD player teach her how to use it. Tell her to press the on button to get the telly to work. If you let her use it properly she will loose interest in playing with it and even gain some independence by putting her own DVD's on like my nephew was at 14 months.

She & you are PERFECTLY NORMAL!

The good thing is, this stage does pass. My 20 month old now says "no" when she is doing things she knows I dont wants her to, but also I often dont have to say no any more as she has learned quite a lot of what I dont want her to do! Of course, she has just moved on in her battle of wills with me, but in parenting, kids just move the goalposts every time you get the hang of them. Or so it feels!

As everyone says, save "NO" for the big things if you can, and try saying "hold it tight" rather than "dont drop it", as I've heard that in kids minds, they often react to the main word, and you dont want her hearing "drop", etc!

And if you feel you're being mean, just balance it with as much praise as possible - catch her doing lots of things right, and the "nos" wont do her any harm at all. Plus you'll notice what a wonderful little girl you have if you are going out of your way to look for things. But they're not called the terrible twos (and trying threes) for nothing, so hang in there, teach her well now so that 6 & 16 more enjoyable.

I sympathize with you and I too have a spunky 15 month old who loves to explore anything and everything! I have been trying not to say " no" unless she''s about to hurt herself, our cat, or her mommy and daddy..I.e pulling the cat's tail for instance..When she throws food out of the highchair I just say something like ..fodd is for eating and not throwing..I try to redirect her attention to something else..I've read alot of baby books/ magazines and they all say that for a toddler to always hear no is not a good thing because it starts to lose it's meaning, and is not good in general for a toddler to always hear..Maybe try saying other things to get your point across if possible!

Good luck!

Well we all know you are not a bad Mom at all or you would be saying no for no reason and not caring!!! Sounds like you are just doing the best you can and that's all we can do!!  I'm sure years from now when your little one looks back they will remember a loving and caring Mom!!  And they will be alive and well because you followed them around to keep them safe!

Dont feel bad - if you didnt say no to all the bad tyhings she does she will never learn she wont hate you or dislike you for it in fact its good for them they learn their boundaries and know hoe far they can push it . I hope the terrible 2's dont last too long for you.

What I found when the kids were younger was the same as you. It was always NO. But one day I actually sat down and worked out the times I say no and the times we did fun things. The fun things outweighed the no's, but people always seem to dwell on the negative and so this becomes the forefront in our minds. Sit down and actually see what you do in a day and you will be surprised.

Sounds like our 14 month old girl.  I always feel as though all I do is growl, but we have to in order to guide our children to the behaviours we would like them to use.

Don't feel bad about it, thing how much worse things would be later on if you don't start putting your foot down now.

While it is frustrating having a child that squeals and is generally a nightmare, it is actually normal.  They are trying to assert their little personalities on the world, and starting with the primary care giver is where they begin.  I'm sure your husband has been left scratching his head over her behaviour too.

Teething can play a part in this, as we are finding out, as can older siblings.  Just got to keep pushing through and work towards having a child who knows what they want, the best way to get it as well as sweet and polite.

You are not a bad mum.

You say no because you love your daughter and want to protect her and only want whats best. Saying no isnt being mean when its said within reason.

So long as you give your daughter lots of cuddles and always tell her you love her she should be fine. Its hard raising a child when their father isnt always with you 24/7 but as she grows older she will appreciate that you and your partner only want whats best for her.

My boys are 7 & 8 and its still feels the same!  I agree with the other comments and there is some great points and ideas for you to try. I just wanted to add that you can't back down on behaviour, especially at this age. If you do you'll just make it harder for yourself when she is older. The way you disipline now makes the founding for her future years. I used to think i was too hard on my boys sometimes but it has really paid off for me. I've never had tantrums at the shops, and what i say goes (most of the time!). I'm not saying my kids are angels but they know how to behave and what is right and wrong. And i'm always getting comments from other parents on my boys good behaviour, even though sometimes i don't agree!

And yes, how you are feeling and what she is doing is normal. This is the age where they start to try to test your limits....and i'm sorry to say this will continue for many years.

That sounds perfectly normal to me.  The 2 tips I would add are

1) make sure you do some fun things together so it is not always NO - eg sitting on the floor and playing with her toys, reading together, watching a disk & dancing together

2) pick your battles.  There are so many, sometimes for the sake of sanity it is better to let some lie and only fight the ones that are safety or well-being issues.  That said, there are some things that really get on top of me and I am having to push those a lot at the moment - eg eating at the table, not moving the furniture, packing away toys

Hope that helps!

There are days when you feel that everything you do is mean, and everything they do is meant to drive you nuts... Try to focus really strongly on every little thing that she does that is good.  Make a massive fuss over her when she is good and tell her how happy and proud you are when she does good things.  Praise her heaps and when you do need to tell her off, make it short sharp and snappy.  Tell her you are not happy that she did 'X' and that because of it she has to sit in the corner (or whatever you do at your house). 

Try not to say no or don't, eg.  Try distractions, and instead of saying don't touch that, so please come over here and do this instead etc.  It puts both of you in a more positive frame of mind, and when you say don't play with the tv... All she hears is 'blah blah... play with the tv' LOL - good luck, it is a moment in time, and you will get through it best by being positive, proactive and most of all consistent.