Screaming Child

Hello there,we have a beautiful,very bright 9month old baby girl.She seems to be growing very well,her doctor is always pleased.Lately our little angel has started to scream to express herself.This scream is a high pitch ear drum bleeding scream. She often does it when she's excited. We did notice that her excitement screams get louder if she is tired. Here is the kicker..she sleeps through the night has since she was 3m.Now it is getting harder to go for naps 2xaday,she doesn't want to miss anything.Therefore the screams are getting more frequent.We don't know what to do.She smiles after screaming and giggles it's not that she is frustrated with anything she's just having fun.We are travelling in a plane over seas in 3wks and I am getting anxious about her excited screams.Any help would be appreciated thankyou!!!!

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

You would do well not to respond to the screams, because doing so reinforces the behavior. Instaed, repsond to her when she is quieter in her approach. You also might consider once daily naps at this point - there's no point pushing two naps if it really isn't useful.