Toddler will not leave baby alone. HELP!

[wdland45]

My toddler DS (26 months) will not leave my baby DS (7 months) alone. He will not stop bothering him, rolling on him, poking him etc. I can not put the baby down without DS #1 touching him in some way. It is driving me CRAZY. I give a TON of special attention to DS#1, but it doesn't help. I feel like I'm denying ds#2 of floor time because I just can't get ds#1 to keep off of him. He has been doing this since DS#2 was born. I thought it would wear off after a couple of months, but here we are 7 months later and the behavior continues in spite of all our efforts (bribery, discipline, begging, etc.). Has anyone else experienced this and do you have any advice on how to curb this behavior - or is this just what the terrible two's are? Please HELP!!

Dani

[shishamo]

Is the baby bothered by all this attention? My son did this a bit (although not as much as you are describing), and I had to teach him to be 'nice' and 'not so rough'. Yes, there were quite a few tears from my DD's end, but she learned to squeal if bothered by him a lot, so I would come running (in theory) if I hear her squeal. She actually didn't mind as much as I thought she would.

ALso, I'm thinking maybe your older son is doing this on purpose to get your attention so maybe ignoring (or pretending to) may work. After all, 7 months old isn't that much fun for a 2 year old boy. I have the feeling that he will get bored with it pretty soon, as soon as he realizes that you don't care anymore?

In any case, you have my symphathy! It's hard with two kids, especially in the beginning. Good luck!

[brubeck]

I went through the same things with my kids! Even though baby #2 is now a toddler he is still a lot more delicate and can't take all of baby #1's pushes and pokes and rolls. Basically I try to monitor it and intervene if #2 seems distressed, and sometimes I lock one of them up (in a gated play area) to let the other roam free. It did calm down after a few months but it seemed to take forever!

Is there something else you can do to occupy #1? A movie, stickers & crayons, a snack, etc.? Taht may also give #2 some alone time. You could also just try putting #2 down when #1 is napping.