Seven Month Old That Is Grabbing Everything in Sight

My son pulled up early, walked early and climbed onto everything early. Things that were in his reach became "his" to hold and drop onto the floor. Anything he could get on, he pushed everything off. At seven, eight and nine months the word no is just that .... a word. I found it easier to put everything up except his books and toys. We let him have the end tables and coffee table to put his books and soft toys on. It saved a lot of waisted effort. Gradually I began to add my own things. It worked better later when we added a bookshelf for him and a toy "table". They love to explore and at seven months the sense of touch is their way of exploring and learning. Make toys that are age appropriate available for them.

It has been quite a while since my two were that age, but I'll give this a shot.
At 7 months, she is exploring her environment and learning new skills. If she hasn't started crawling yet, she will be soon. Grabbing things is her way of exploring. She's not forming a bad habit (although it might be annoying to you right now). Soon, she will be walking and climbing, too. Guess what motivates her to learn how to do those new skills... ? Wanting to touch/hold the things that she sees that are out of her reach. Now, if she is grabbing for things that you don't want her having (knives, coffee cups, cactus plants, heirloom china, etc) then you need to put those things out of the way, and have things on hand that you can offer her instead.
People have different opinions about putting everything out of reach to spare themselves having to say "no" all the time (the proverbial candy dish on the coffee table), but that is a different subject from what you are talking about, correct? She's not running around the room grabbing things at will. At her age, it isn't really necessary to say "no" when she reaches/grabs at something she wants. If it is okay for her to have it, let her. If it is not okay, then let her know ("that can hurt you") and move it away from her, out of sight if possible, and offer her something else to be interested in. At 7 months she is probably still sitting nicely in the grocery buggy, but soon she will not. And then you will HAVE to say "no".
Saying "no" does not make you a "mean mother". It makes you a loving mother, who cares enough to set healthy limits for your child. The manner in which you go about it, however, could make you a mean mother. LOL
Distraction and re-direction will be your best friends. My son was constantly grabbing, climbing, struggling to get out of his stroller, etc.. He walked before 11 months and never wanted to be held (or held back!). I thought I would lose my mind. I dreaded trips to the grocery store b/c he was so busy and didn't want to sit still. But, you do what you have to do, and that means saying "no", it means enforcing "no", and it means giving them something else to keep their mind off of the thing(s) they can't have. At least until they are quite a bit older and are able to (slowly) learn self-control. Do it with love, and you are not being mean. Saying no can be very good. But at her age, you can't just say no and take the item away and let that be it. She will pitch a fit. Then you will really be stressed, no? Short simple words (That can hurt you, That can break, That's sharp, That's not ours, etc), remove the item (or move away from it) and offer an alternative. Distract, redirect.
Yes, it can make you go mad, but it will get better. Just try to remind yourself that she has fantastic motivation to learn new skills!!! :))

Enjoy these months, they go by so quickly~

Hi M.,

I am mother to four, ranging from 4 to 26, and grandmother to five. If you want your sanity, put everything you don't want your child into away. At this age they are learning and exploring everything in their world, but they are not really ready for discipline very much. Keep the "no" things down to the minimum possible, and when you do have to say "no" to something, take the time to show them a "yes" thing or two. By doing so, it will make the "no" less painful for you both, and will help later on. Know that your child grabbing everything is not only normal, but very healthy, showing his/her interest in the world around him/her.

Babyproof as much as posible and allow her to explore. Purchase teethers and rattles and attach them with links to everywhere she sits- high chair, stroller, car seat, etc. so she can explore and develop fine motor skills and eye/hand coordination. Be constantly aware of what is within her reach and get in a habit of putting unsafe things (like hot coffee, silverware, etc) out of reach every time you set it down, even when she isn't around, so it becomes a habit. Try to change your vocabulary away from "no" but stating what you WANT instead of what you don't want, and using words like "danger" and "hot" instead of "no" and "don't". For example, if she reaches for your coffee, instead of "NO! Don't touch that!" Say something like, "Danger! That's hot and I don't want you to get hurt. You can hold this instead."

oh mama!
please oh please take a look around
www.askdrsears.com for some basic developemental information about what is normal for a baby at what age.
your baby is doing her JOB! she's being a BABY!!
so please oh please do not get or go mad! she cannot REASON about her natural desires and impulses- you are NOT setting her up for bad habits down the road...she is exploring and getting to know not only her own body- what she can reach- but getting to know the world around her- what things feel like, etc.
LET her grab things! have toys out for her to grab! TALK to her about what she is experiencing as she grabs- narrate for her so she can learn language "Oh! you want mama's straw? well, I need to drink out of it, but here, take your sippy w/ a straw!"
ENCOURAGE her as she develops these very important skills such as hand-eye coordination!
And PLEASE do NOT overuse the word NO, as it won't mean ANYTHING later on, like when she is TWO and can reason just a bit more (just a BIT more, lol!)
~L.

There is a lot to be discovered from this age on, so buckle up! :)
Oftentimes a firm NO will suffice. You ask her to put down whatever object she has grabbed and repeat the No. (Sometimes they like the idea of throwing it a lot better) But be very consistent. Don't walk away before she has put it down. Hey, you're a mom, you've earned the right to be the one to say No.

We just baby proofed the electrical outlets and put everything else that we didn't want her to touch up high. Except the pet's dishes. The people who posted that grabbing is totally normal are right. Your child will grab at everything and check it out. Putting things in the mouth is common at this age too. I can remember changing my daughter's diaper on the ground at a park and she was just reaching her arms out and grabbing handsful of mulch and leaves and trying to shove them in her mouth. They're just checking the world out. We hardly ever had to say No to her at that age because we kept the dangerous and fragile things up high. Then we didn't have to stress out or chase her around, nor corrall her into a pack and play. she truly got to explore and enjoy. Of course, at about 7 months my vegetarian child did sample cat food. Oops. and she spilled the dog's water dish a lot but we didn't scold her because she was too young to know better.

Hi M..

You don't have to be the mother who always says "no"! Mind you, you do have to say "yes" when something is good or right. I'll tell you what I did with my son, who is 12 now, and very articulate I might add. I was the same as you...didn't want to be negative with him all the time, so I DID say no, but I followed it up with WHY. At seven months, you may not think your child understands you, but if you firmly grab their hand, and lovingly say something like, "No, we don't touch that because xyz" you are accomplishing three things: 1)The child learns that touching is a no-no. (It does take time and effort to make them learn.) 2)You are building a good talking relationship with your child. 3)The more you speak to them in regular tones and language, the better (and quicker!) they learn the language. My son was saying full sentences when he was a year old. Astounded everyone. My husband and I used to talk quietly to him all the time...about everything, like: "I'm going to change your diaper now. See, I grab the wipe..." etc.

Anyway, good luck. Hope this helps, and does not offend.

C.

Hi, M.. Well, I have good news. The fact that your baby is grabbing things means that he or she has good eyesight and hand/eye coordination!!! That's a very good thing.

Now the "bad" news: you're not going to stop a 7-month-old from wanting to touch everything he or she sees. That's a good thing, though, because that child's brain is very active and curious. It's a sign of good, normal, baby intelligence.

The only thing you can do with a baby that young who touches things you don't want him to touch is to gently take away the things he shouldn't touch and put something you want him to touch in his hand. Distract him from the things you want him to stay away from (or baby-proof the environment so that he can't see these things).

Kids do not develop self control about touching things until much later. Do not expect your child to be able to stop himself from wanting to touch what he sees until he is over a year old, probably closer to 2...but then, he's going to have the terrible twos, and he's not going to want to listen. So you're going to have to watch him all the time. Be nice about it, though. He doesn't have the capability to obey you at 7 months.

Seriously, the best thing to do is to baby-proof the environment and give him lots of safe things to play with. If you don't let him reach out and explore things, you're going to end up with one angry baby whose spirit has been dulled. Find a way to make his world interesting and safe at the same time.

Peace,
Syl

Are you kidding me!!!! Sorry to sound quite blunt but I have a 7 month old son and he's also grabbing everything in sight. THIS IS WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSE TO BE DOING!!!!!! If you don't want him grabbing stuff around the entire house, put him in a playpen with his toys or put him in an excersaucer where he has toys around him to grab and bite. This is not a problem at all. Be thankful that he's grabbing everything and your not having to deal with a child that can't do anything.

Good Luck!

I don't know what the layout of your house is like, but we have ours set up so that our "breakables" or things that might bother me if they got broken are in a separate area that I gate off. Then I have the area we hang out in that I accept that if anything gets broken I won't be mad. I once read that if you don't want to constantly say no that you should avoid situations where you'll have to say no. Also, I try to find a way to do the constant discipline without the word no. Just take a second and rethink your sentence. Instead of no touch...I'll say "The blinds are for keeping the sun out, not for playing." That kind of thing. That way he's learning why he can't touch it. This seems to work for us most of the time and it when it doesn't I just use a firm serious sounding no. I find that if I say "no" in my regular voice he seems to think it's entertaining and that in some way I'm really asking him to do whatever it is over and over and over again, LOL.
Best of luck! Oh and those gates are great. Before our son walked we used one of those superyards and you can get extensions too to make it bigger. For us it was important to keep him off of our tile so he wouldn't fall and hurt himself, but it also gave him a safe area to play while I could do dishes, etc.

ha...I would like advice on this too. My son is a grabber!