Help Deal with a 2 Year Old

i hate doing it but bribing him may work. I have 3 boys ages 9 7 and 3 and had to do it with them to. toys seem to work or candy anything. Tell him he will get it if he behaves. sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt. try walking around the store with him showing him what he can have if he does it. S. in Michigan

my daughter turned two on the 28 of feb to and is just as head strong when i want her to do something she dose not want to due i use trick like if you smile good for your pic i will buy you a sucker or a hot wheel it almost always works

Your son is 2- he is behaving just like a 2 year old. It is normal. It is a phase and it will go away in time. Some kids are in the terrible 2 year old stage for a long time -some pass through th ephase quickly.

some things you can do.. is make sure he gets enough sleep so he is not cranky cuase he is tired. Try to do the pictures or other things when he is at his best (maybe in the morning)

Keep in mind that he will grow out of this... soon he will be a sweet boy again..

Leave and come back after napping, and eating.

I also have a 2 year old with a mind of her own. Like anyone else, they have good days and bad days. Most picture places have appointments available during the day. Wait until he is having a good day and take him in then. You could also try making it a little funner for him by giving him a couple of outfits to choose from and let him take his favorite stuffed animal or toy to have in the picture with him. I am not big on the bribe the kid to do something method, but bottom line is you are his mom and have to do what works for you.

Oh man, I remember my son doing this and still does sometimes. He used to be a little ham and sit through all the pictures and soon and he turned 2 he did the same thing. If you get someone experienced with taking kids pictures it helps so request one when you call for an appointment. Tell them to not take so much time changing the background and props so knowing what you want before you go in there will help that is always when our melt down started it taking to long. A little pep talk before going in to take pictures about him being a big boy will help, sometimes. We would use his favorite toy to tickle him or me and he always laughed when I got tickled and made a big deal out of it and if that doesn't work, BRIBE him! We do with riding the crousal in the mall. Good Luck!

My oldest which is now 15 did the samething. I went to Olan Mills and I still got his pitures taken. To this day we love those the best you can see the true kid. and they are really cute.Give it a try, back then you could not see them till they were done 2 weeks later. Now you can see them right away.You never know you might like them.

A.,

I have been taking my son to the same photographer since he was born and we have always gotten fantastic pictures. My suggestion is to go to a photography studio where there is one person who runs the business that way your son will get used to him or her. Also, the photographer is more likely to be patient and play with him to get him to feel at ease. After all, they want you to be happy with your portrate and come back time after time. With the Wal-mart and Sears type studios, you never know who will be taking the pictures and if they have any experience with children. Good luck!!!

You could always try a candid professional photographer. My DD will be 2 in 2 weeks, and I am a professional photographer ;) I do on location photos which means the child is normally at ease within an environment where they are comfortable.

I know of many in the area if you are looking for a referral.

Hi A.,

I know what you mean it is not easy. If you can, take someone else with you for help. Go in the morning after he has had his breakfast. I went to Olan Mills at the Rochester Meijer for pictures and had Shannon Detloff take the pictures. She was great and she got some of the best pictures. She said she will be moving to the Lapeer location in Kmart so call ahead. Rochesters number is ####-###-####. It helps when you have a good fast photographer.
Good Luck!
J.

Hi, I have a 2 year old grandson, sounds just like your little guy. I have him most of the time, so I am dealing with all that all over again. I took him in for his 2 year old pictures, I"m not sure where you live, but I found the best photographer at Meijer, here in Jackson by the airport for his. Its an Olan Mills studio in the store. Anyway, this gal was wonderful. She had me put him down and she let him play. He picked up a plastic train and played for awhile, she got on the floor and snapped some really great pictures of him. Then she got out a little rocking horse and cowboy hat, again some adorable pictures with him taking the hat on and off, playing peek a boo. He spotted a car and was going over to get it and fell, that was the end of our photo shoot, he started one of his fits. The pictures she did capture were wonderful, she only ended up with I think 6 shots. She wanted to take more, but there was no way he was going to do anything. So if you live anywhere around here, I would go to her in a heart beat. You may not get alot of pics to choose from, but I loved the way she just let him play and be him. And the pictures captured all of that. Good luck. Sue

A.,
My son is 2 1/2. He used to love getting his pictures taken. When he turned 2 in October, we went to have pictures taken and he threw a fit. Didn't want any part of it. We tried again when our daughter was about 1 month old (Christmas time) and still wouldn't have anything to do wiht it. We have just decieded to not force him. I am not going to pay for pictures that he is not happy in. I also don't know what exactly to do about it besides take them at home.

LOL, we went through this exact situation with our son's 2 year pictures. What finally worked for us was sitting him on a swivel stool (he couldn't reach the ground) and I slowly spun it around. He didn't want to sit on it at first but when I started to spin it he loved it. When he would come around facing the camera the photographer would squeak a toy to get him to look her way. We ended up with great pictures and I laugh when I look at them and know I was just out out of the shot spinning him around. Another we did was handing him a book to look at. He sat down for a split second to look at the book and we got a cute picture. Whatever works for you, the most important thing is a QUICK photographer. You won't have much time to get the perfect shot with a 2 year old, so you have to take what they give you! I was sweating and out of breath by the end of his session from chasing him around. Frustrating then, but a silly memory now. Best of luck!