Arrrgggg!!! "Terrible 2S"

let me begin by saying I allow my kids to say No thank you. It seems less ugly, they get to say no and I get the manners I want I still make her do what I say.

When my daughter was 2 she found my eye pillow.. (while I was tied up on the potty), if you aren't familar with this.. it's a small silk pillow filled with flax seeds. very small brown slippery seeds. She found by pulling the zipper the seeds would magically come out.. she decided to dump them into a big pile on the floor of my room (hard woods). I was picking them up for MONTHS.. while I was cleaning them up (after refusing her help) she decided to toss all of her clothes out of her drawers, I then was cleaning that mess up (with minimal help).. she went back into my room took the eye pillow (I thought I hid it well)and ran up and down the hallway yelling weeeeeeee. scattering them EVERYWHERE.. this was only about 30mins of that LONG LONG day... I was never so glad to have night night time come.. I didn't know if I'd go insane or ship her off to the circus!!

If she laughs at the punishment then she needs something else. Mine never did that more than once. They are sweet loving children and they love their mommy and papi, but the terrible twos weren't very terrible when they realized there were consequences they cared about. Whatever the consequence is it has to be something they don't want to endure. If they laugh, it's not punishment.

I wish you luck because it's normal for kids to test the limits. I full know what you are going through, but you are the parent and no two year old should feel so brazen as to laugh when threatend with a punishment.

Really good luck.

Hi C.~
My daughter has two dogs that she enjoys tossing food to so we have been trying to stop the process since the dogs dont go everywhere with us (like restaurants etc). One thing I have noticed is that if I redirect my daughter from certain situations th outcome is much easier to manage. Many books will tell you that kids are testing limits and boundaries etc. At the same time it's hard because they can't communicate everything. So if I put myself in there shoes I would get as frustrated. Sometimes talking to my husband is like talking another foreign language:)

The best thing I have found for me that works is to like I said earlier to refocus my daughter. Sometimes kids are going to throw things on the floor. Sometimes parents have to pick the battles. If my daughter cries or has a tantrum from left field I let her cry and get it out. This is hard for grandpa when he visits but I try to explain to him that as a prior animal trainer your subject learns to react off of your reactions.

Basically, a book I really like is ......
What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage: Lessons for People from Animals and Their Trainers

One of my fav stories pertains to the Belugas at the Shedd. A trainer walked by the belugas and the beluga sprayed water on him the trainer reacted by jumping etc. Not realizing it but the trainer had just taught the Belugas a fun way to entertain themselves. It's different than reading all of the kids books but I think it really tells how kids pick up information from the reactions we give them.

Anyways, check out the book when you have a moment:) It's very interesting!
Good luck!! Let me know if anything in the book rings true for you.
M.

Oh Girl--- You know that two doors down from you, we are having the same issues, so don't feel bad... we are all in the same boat with our toddlers! Feel lucky that you aren't only 5 short weeks away from doubling your trouble! It was actually really reassuring for me the other day when the kids played together, that your little one has a little bit of spit and vinegar in her too! We'll make it through these times, with the added help of some frozen adult beverages this summer! :)

Yep... they are terrible... my girl is 32 months and her latest reign of terror involves our two helpless cats. She goes to time out when she is not gentle, and the second, I mean the SECOND she is up, she is right back at the tail yanking. I suppose one day she will learn! She also has started to say "No, You pick it up" which is LOVELY. We will get through it! And there are those wonderful moments right??? Like when she cannot give you enough hugs?

I agree with all these posts...we all are going through not-so-pleasant behaviors and trying to find a suitable teaching method. I wouldn't worry about the time out thing. They are in the whole "reverse psychology" phase and it's normal. Time Out's DO work all the time, even when they're laughing or appear not bothered. The good thing is that you get a break and they are sitting there (or in the crib) which is where my angel gets hers from time to time--she sleeps in a big-girl bed--but I use the baby crib to contain her when I need the break from her antics. Remember, one minute for every year ( I sometimes add an extra minute if I need to) Good Luck and Happy Parenting.

You are SO not alone!! Our little one will be 2 in about three weeks and everything is no, he does the opposite of whatever we say, and he laughs when he gets in trouble. He'll even do things on purpose just to go in time-out.

*We say it's time to go up to bed and he'll throw himself on the floor and laugh...then in bed he'll take his paci and throw it across the room and laugh. (We won't give it back, but it hasn't stopped him!)

*We say come put on your coat...he'll grab it and run the other way laughing and throw it down.

*At the store if he wants out of the cart/stroller he'll start screaming...last week store employees came in the bathroom b/c he was screaming and they thought he was being hurt/kidnapped!

As you can see...you are NOT ALONE! :) We're dealing with the same things here and we have no idea what to do either. Our oldest never acted like this...completely different personailites. We have a baby coming any day...sure hope this is a phase, but I have a feeling it will get worse before it gets better with a new little one in the house.

Good Luck!!

OMG, am I glad to read your post! Most of the time I think I am the only one with the out of control child. My youngest is 2 years and my oldest is almost 5. My husband keeps telling me that the older one was just as bad but I sure don't remember ther terrible two's being so hard. My little on is constantly climbing everything, going through drawers that he knows is off limits. And then when I yell at him for it, he says "ok, time out" and then sits down on the timeout mat. He thinks its a fun game so they hardly ever work anymore. I don't even know what to do to punish him for bad behavior anymore. I think I just need to wait it out and hopefully he will grow out of the terrible two's quickly, at least by the time he turns 3. :)

By the way, my 5 year old who used to be a handful has recently turned into the sweetest little guy that is constantly helpful with everything. So I know that they eventually get thru the crazy phase and come out the other end a totally different person - all for the better.