OMG. Toddler hell.

[theWrap]

So, yeah. Parenting a toddler is tough. Like, tough tough. Like, I am going to scream...or pull my hair out...or something.

Sam went through this phase of whining for what he wanted, and I complained about it, right? Right. Well, yay, now he says what he wants. Except it comes out through tears and whining and sobbing and overly-dramatic crap. He had a complete MELT DOWN this weekend about eleventy billion times. He wanted more M&Ms. He wanted to stay at the park longer. He wanted more orange juice. He wanted Daddy kisses. He didn't want to ride in the elevator at the hotel.

I think my son is emotionally deficient or something. Seriously. Is it normal for 2 year olds to have this "the world is coming to an end if I don't get what I want" reaction?

And, of course, sometimes he just DOESN'T get what he wants. Sometimes - like this morning, when he didn't want to go to daycare, but I had a meeting - he HAS to do it whether he wants to or not. Somtimes, I give him what he wants IMMEDIATELY so he chills out (the daddy kisses), and sometimes, once he calms down, he gets what he wants (some M&Ms). Sometimes, I don't give him what he wants simply because he's been a butt - which is why he hasn't gotten any more M&Ms, and WON'T any time soon, no matter how much he asks. I tried explaining they are a treat for sometimes, but he doesn't seem to get that distinction...or he doesn't care....

Oh, yeah. He's also freaking out over EVERY diaper change. Good times.

I really don't know what to do. As usual, his father is calm and patient and ignores him or else calms him down. I have very little patience, and I use the mean mommy tone of voice to tell him that his behavior is unacceptable. So, of course, he gets a hurt look on his face and cries more.

Damn. This is too hard.

[PinkPaisley]

Hun, this is what is happening at my house everyday x 2 sometimes.

I have really seen the terrible two's kick in. Dylan asks for m&m all day long and marmellos (how he says it) and if i say no he fall to the ground crying.

His new thing is me ... if i leave to work he flips out like crazy and starts hitting my mom who's holding him back. It's sad sometimes. I'm there with you Lauren, but i am sure it will pass soon.. I hope. Well, Sadie does this every once in a while so who knows I give up.

[theWrap]

HAAAAAAAAAA

I SOOO don't mean this but...

too bad we can't kennel them.

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAA

[PinkPaisley]

I tell you that padded room thing is sounding really nice right now.

[lilbunnygirl]

Is it normal for 2 year olds to have this "the world is coming to an end if I don't get what I want" reaction?

YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!! Cash would go through stages where he'd act like that over EVERYTHING for a few weeks at a time, and then he'd get more normal. Thankfully, I work with 2 year olds and saw the same behavior in other kids his age, so I knew it was standard-issue 2 year old, especially for boys.

It gets better. Cash still has a huge meltdown maybe 1-2 times a week, now it's always because he wants to do things himself, even things he can't do, and refuses help, just keeps trying until he frustrates himself into a tantrum. But 1-2x a week is a lot better than all day every day!

[Jojo]

:hugs:

Matt is pretty awful with tantrums...I can't imagine how much worse they can get.

[Heather]

Cohen does EVERYTHING you just described!! So I'm gonna say it's normal and pray to God for both of us that it passes soon! :hugs:

[Caitlin]

Oh ****. It gets worse?



I'm gonna say it's normal based on the fact that my son (at 17 months) is already doing that stuff.


:support: And I'm the mean one, too.

[AddiesMomma]

addie whined all day yesterday. we were visiting a friend at his office and she was carrying on. usually i'm the one to tell her to stop and stuff, but kirk had had enough and just said "shut up addie!" :lol: she's usually pretty good, but she has her days.

[Elaine]

Yay for toddlers! :hula: Aren't they just a blast?

:hehe:

:rolleyes:

Yup, it's normal and yup, it continues just in different degrees of intensity. I'm the mean one too. I have no patience whatsoever and that doesn't help the situation any at all. :blush: I'm trying but some days it's tough.

I think we all need each other for mental support. Toddlers are hard work...

[theWrap]

:hugs:

Matt is pretty awful with tantrums...I can't imagine how much worse they can get.

Part of it, Jo, is that they get BIGGER, so when they do that flailing crap (as you try to carry/drag them out of a public place), it gets harder.

Part of it is that once they start really talking, they can scream things like "I want my daddy kisses!!" which make you want to cry and beat them for making you cry while they are being little ****s - all at the same time!!

PS He NEVER tantrums and cries for mommy kisses. ****er.

[theWrap]

Yeah. You know, I really don't think I'm that mean, necessarily. I just tell him, very directly and without a whole lot of sympathy, that he can not have whatever it is he wants. It's time to do THIS thing, not that thing, and he might as well stop crying because he just doesn't have a choice.

[Salvigirl]

Gabriel does all of those things too and it looked like something I would have typed word for word! :lol:

Getting in the carseat is an issue because he wants to "Dive Car", Diaper changes are touture and if it wasn't for the fact he would get a rash I would rather leave him in it than fight with him, Getting dressed is an issue because he wantes to do it himself, eating is an issue because he wants to feed it all to the dog, basically the ONLY thing that is not an issue is when we are outside and he is doing EXACTLY what he wants to do! When he doesn't get what he wants he throws himself on the floor then proceeds to bang his head into the floor! I have learned to let him have his tantrums and ignore them when they get that bad. They seem to pass quicker when I do. Time outs are doing didly squat for us right now so I have given up on them and will re-visit them when he understands why he is there a little more.

After I have dealt with this all day, DH walks in and yells at me because I am being soooooo mean to him, then he gets him, comforts him for a while and he is fine! Makes me soooooo mad! He deals with it for 30 minutes and I get 30 hours!

Oh yea...I forgot to mention...he is a perfect ANGEL for everyone else!

[AddiesMomma]

addie wants to drive the car too. i've learned to keep the keys out of her sight and she'll generally be okay with it. now she just HAS to open her door and climb in the car by herself...and buckle herself in (or at least try). when we get home from work she HAS to be the one to unlock the front door or she stomps her feet and cries. i usually let kirk go ahead and go in, shut the door and let her unlock it. :rolleyes: she also freaks some mornings when i try to put her clothes on her because she wants to herself.

hell, she even gets upset when i try to empty her potty because SHE wants to do it. ewww! LOL

she's very independent. i've learned that if i start everything about 5-10 minutes before it's time, i'm less stressed because i can let her do things her way.

[Sam I Am]

Add us to the tantrum 2's! Kaiya has been a monster lately with throwing herself on the ground. Climbing out of her carseat (she got a spank for that and thus far it has stopped). Now it is "stop it", "No" to everything, "don't" etc. Mommy had the meltdown yesterday after she dumped my 44oz drink all over the living table and floor. Everything everybody else has mentioned we have had also. Let's hope this phase passes quickly!

[Lily]

I know Bubbles did this. I found that a little change in my behavior and parenting made a slight difference. For changes in an activity, I started warning her. Telling her she had 5 more minutes left to play before we have to leave made a big difference in the amount of tantrums she had. We figured that Bubbles has issue with changes in routine. I also started standing more firmly on my decisions. Now, I'm not saying that these are things you aren't doing... I'm just saying that these are things I changed and found that worked. =) I hope you have a better day and find a solution!

[Jojo]

I know Bubbles did this. I found that a little change in my behavior and parenting made a slight difference. For changes in an activity, I started warning her. Telling her she had 5 more minutes left to play before we have to leave made a big difference in the amount of tantrums she had. We figured that Bubbles has issue with changes in routine. I also started standing more firmly on my decisions. Now, I'm not saying that these are things you aren't doing... I'm just saying that these are things I changed and found that worked. =) I hope you have a better day and find a solution!


Yes!! I totally forgot about that. I had to do that with James. I would tell him that he had 5 more minutes to play or could pick one more car but then we'd have to do things my way.

Oh...times were so much easier when I was a nanny!! (I felt smarter too)

[theWrap]

I know Bubbles did this. I found that a little change in my behavior and parenting made a slight difference. For changes in an activity, I started warning her. Telling her she had 5 more minutes left to play before we have to leave made a big difference in the amount of tantrums she had. We figured that Bubbles has issue with changes in routine. I also started standing more firmly on my decisions. Now, I'm not saying that these are things you aren't doing... I'm just saying that these are things I changed and found that worked. =) I hope you have a better day and find a solution!

You know, I have tried giving my son warnings that we are about to move on to another activity - and it's not having much success. I start warning him when there's 15, 10, and 5 minutes left. I think he doesn't have a good enough grasp of time.

SOOOO I have decided we might need an EGG TIMER! I have heard of other mommies having success with this. Setting it for 10 minutes, then 5 more minutes, and teaching him that we have to start finishing up at the first buzz, then that we have to leave on the second buzz. I figure this might give us enough time to get done what we need to.

[Lily]

I know Bubbles did this. I found that a little change in my behavior and parenting made a slight difference. For changes in an activity, I started warning her. Telling her she had 5 more minutes left to play before we have to leave made a big difference in the amount of tantrums she had. We figured that Bubbles has issue with changes in routine. I also started standing more firmly on my decisions. Now, I'm not saying that these are things you aren't doing... I'm just saying that these are things I changed and found that worked. =) I hope you have a better day and find a solution!

You know, I have tried giving my son warnings that we are about to move on to another activity - and it's not having much success. I start warning him when there's 15, 10, and 5 minutes left. I think he doesn't have a good enough grasp of time.

SOOOO I have decided we might need an EGG TIMER! I have heard of other mommies having success with this. Setting it for 10 minutes, then 5 more minutes, and teaching him that we have to start finishing up at the first buzz, then that we have to leave on the second buzz. I figure this might give us enough time to get done what we need to.

Oh the Egg Time! Yeah! We did this with her bathtime! We went out and let her pick out a colored egg time that we left in the bathroom. Having a child throw a tantrum in that tub isn't desired, that's for sure! The egg time helped her a lot!

[Bootysaurus]

:hug: Sounds normal to me.

And it will pass.

Aidan is hitting the 2s pretty hard.:hehe:

[amickey34]

I'm with you all...the toddler stage seems to be the worst! Sara has an opinion about EVERYTHING all day long. She insists on specific cups for milk and water and throws a fit if she doesn't get her way. What really drives me crazy is when she asks/begs/whines for something over and over and over again. Enough already!!!

[Becky]

We are in toddler hell as well. Nice to see we're in good company. ;)