Terrible, horrible, awful twos/threes - Nora

amynicole21 wrote: My child is possessed, I am certain of it. She throws fits 100x a day to the point where she should probably be put in a padded room so that she doesn't hurt herself. She'll be 3 this month, and while her 2s weren't THAT bad, I think we are in for it in her 3s.

I just got the following email from my DH who had to get them to school on his own this morning.

kit_kats_mom replied: Oooh poor Shawn!

I don't have a lot of advice since Lauren is a demon too lately. However, I'd have just put her shoes in her school bag and given them to her teacher with a short explanation that Nora wont' wear them today. That would at least be one fight avoided.

coasterqueen replied: At least he had a sense of humor about it.

I don't know what to tell you either because the 3's are already proving to be TERRIBLE for Megan. She throws her fits, althought not as bad as Nora, but her main thing is hitting, spitting, calling people names, refusing everything you ask her to do no matter what it is, and just being downright MEAN.

Teesa®© replied: I had to laugh at the last bit of what your DH said. Not knowing him, I hope he was joking and I took it as such. I didn't realize there weren't any sort of cliffs in Florida, but I'm glad there's not

to BOTH of you.

I can only suggest that being very firm with her - and both of you have to be consistent in this ALL the time - each and every time and make it clear that you won't put up with her behaviour any more. What ever decision is made, stick to it and let her know that that's the FINAL decision. Even if it's something she picked.

Have you tried letting her pick out clothes the night before to hopefully avoid hassles in the morning? If she still pulls her tantrums, at least you won't be in a rush to avoid being late for anything then. When she does pull them, tell her that her behaviour is not acceptable and you'll talk to her again when she's done. Then walk away. When she calms down, go back and talk to her and explain that she needs to use her words to explain why she's so upset. If she just screams and cries, you don't know exactly what's wrong. It could be anything from the plight of animals becoming extinct to not having pudding for dessert. If she uses her words, then you'll know what's wrong and then the two of you can fix it or make it all better.

Sometimes, children don't have the words to explain what's wrong. If this is the case, then have her draw pictures of how she's feeling. They don't say "Pictures are worth a thousand words" for nothing

Children often have tantrums for attention, but they also do it for a sort of power. They want to be able to have some sort of control in their lives, which is also why I suggest letting her pick out her own clothes the night before. Children may *just* be children, but they still have a voice - and sometimes a really LOUD one! - and they still like to be heard. Just like we do.

I hope something in this helps you. I sure don't want your DH to actually find a bar that's open at 7.30am... that turns out to be on a cliff

coasterqueen replied:
I had to laugh at this because my child, Megan, has to have ALL power - not just some sort of power. If she doesn't have all the control it's not happening.

A&A'smommy replied: at the way he put it.... but bless your hearts we went through that at 3 with Alyssa too it was TERRIBLE and she still has melt downs that are insane and uncontrollable

danahas4monkeys replied: Oh poor guy but super KUDOS to dad for even attempting mine while normally great with the kids would have said nevermind we'll just stay home or called me for backup!

My2Beauties replied: I am so sorry but I am LMAO at getting "kicked in the junk"

Honey for me the 3's were 10x worse than the 2's.

my2monkeyboys replied: Yep, the 3's are SO much worse! It's a shame people call them the terrible two's... it leads first-time parents to believe it will get better when they are closer to 3!
Poor Dh!!!

MommyToAshley replied: Poor Shawn -- I don't know which I did first, laugh or feel sorry for him.

But, honestly, look at that pic. No way you could be mad at that cutie pie.

moped replied: Good sense of humor on him!!!!

Gosh that is tough because Jack is no prize some days we certainly don't have any big problems yet - but I can say I don't like the 3's at all..........

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: Oh gosh Amy, I could have written that myself!! The boys have both been really rough lately with the transition. I think they are okay and then all you know what breaks lose. The mornings are good because we get out the door, but afternoons are a killer for me!! Wesley turns two in June and he is going through what your DH describes. Wants something one minute, throws it across the room the next. Changes his mind constantly and he lets you know when he is MAD! Wil on the other hand is the sassy non-listener. And he's in that annoying phase of repeating something he wants about 100x even after I say no. I have been drinking seriously every night...pathetic, I know, but it's the only thing that takes the edge off to get me through dinner and bedtime. DH seriously worked from about 7:30am until 10:30pm last night, so not fun for me.

Hope things get better soon, for both of us, because there are several cliffs not too far from where I live!!!

mckayleesmom replied: Russell isn't a huge tantrum thrower.....yet....So Im counting my lucky stars....He is really whiney though....and if you don't understand what he is saying...then he gets kind of peeved.

lovemy2 replied: Oh Yeah - the "kicked in the junk" part was too funny

I am sorry - now that I am not laughing so hard anymore - I guess all I can do is give you hugs unfortunately I don't think - at least for me - there was any one right answer - something would work for awhile then we were back at square one and we would have to work something out again - the only thing I found to consistently work was a nice glass of wine at the end of the day

boyohboyohboy replied: I am scared to death now after reading all these comments, I am barely surviving these terrible 2's that jake is in, now you tell me its going to get worse!!
I am already afraid to be in public with him lately.

lovemy2 replied:
Don't fear - you have an advantage - you have BOYS - they may break things but girls - well they break your spirit