Saying "No"

Declan has now reached the ripe old age of 1 year and as such he has become more and more daring.  He's tall enough and stable enough to climb up on most furniture now and can also figure out how to open a drawer or door that does not have a latch or lock on it.  And he's figured out that he can take his bigger and heavier toys and drop them on the floor or bang them against the wall to make a symphonic cacophony of noise that apparently he enjoys immensely.  

As such the word "no" is quite frequently heard throughout our house.  However, the reaction you get from Declan when you tell him no can no better be predicted than the next winning lottery number.  Here are just a few of my favorites:

• He will stop whatever he was doing and go about something else (I feel like SuperDad when this happens)
• He will ignore you completely (kids...)
• He will stop, turn towards you, look you dead in the eye and continue doing what he's doing (I dare anyone not to laugh at that)
• He will run away screaming as if you just did the funniest thing ever (I want that kid's sense of humor)
• He will start crying like you just took his favorite toy and broke it in front of him (which I have thought of doing I'm kind of ashamed to admit)

All of this brings us to the question, "Is he not listening to us?"  When I stop and think about that I feel bad because I want to be the authority figure in Declan's life and I don't want him to grow up to be a brat or worse yet a DB.  What can I do to make him listen to me more.  If he does things after we tell him not to I have given him a little tap on the bum (which he barely feels cause of the diaper) and that has no effect on him.  I redirect him if possible.  Ignore the behavior if it's not unsafe. 

After all of this soul searching and questioning of myself and my parenting abilities I feel utterly absurd because I have had the realization that the root of the problem isn't me or his mom or anyone else.  The root of the problem is Declan.  And it's not really his fault either, so I can't get mad at him over it either.  He can't control it.  This problem will go away eventually, especially if we remember the root but also strive to teach him what "no" means and what is appropriate and what is not. 

So what is the root?  What is this horrible thing that makes my son misbehave and not listen to us?  What possible ailment could inflict a child so small as to cause him to drive us insane at times and burst out laughing at others?

He's one.

That's right, he's only one year old.  He has no contextual grasp of the idea of "no".  He will, with time and training from the adults around him.  But at this point to expect him to "listen" to you and (cue Cartman voice) "respect my authority" is just setting yourself up for disappointment.  He's only one and rather than focus on getting him to do what we want him to we really need to focus on the amazement in his eyes and mind when his figures out that he push his toybox up to the sofa and use it as a step stool to get up on the couch, which then unlocks a whole new treasure trove of things to play with (lamps, picture frames, coasters, phones, etc).  Well that and quickly take him down so he doesn't fall. 

Wish - I wish that my son will always be thirsty for knowledge and always want to learn more.  When he asks a question I never want him to accept "Because" as an answer.  If he can't find out I want him to want to know so much that he will go look up the answer himself.