what do you do with a terrible two?
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noah turns two in less than a month.
the past few weeks, he's been acting two.
strange, because isaac didn't have terrible two's,
he had terrific twos, and terrible three's.
i'm not prepared for this.
i have no idea what to do with a two year old who throws tantrums.
last night we left my brother's house in draper at 8:45 with noah screaming.
when we got home at 9:45, noah was still screaming,
only he was so hoarse it wasn't quite as loud.
there was nothing wrong, unless you count extreme sleepiness and a refusal to go to sleep.
then this morning, i found this:
our brand new (to us) leap-pad and thomas book.
ripped to shreds.
what kind of consequence do you give to two-year-old?
i'm so mad i could scream,
but again,
it's just a thing...it's just a thing...it's just a thing.
but i'm mad at him.
and i want him to know that it's not okay.
he's ripped up lots of books lately, so he knows he's not supposed to.
but again, he's two, and they're just things.
he's more important than a thing, as i've learned here and here.
but i'm still mad.
******
what do you do with your terrible two?
what do i do?!
20 August 2008
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14 comments:
You read A Daily Scoop? She's the sister of a friend of my parents and I've been reading since Camille's accident. Stephanie is amazing- she has inspired so many!
The whole disciplining & teaching of a 2-year-old has been hard to figure out (for me).
If I had a two year old...I would give you my words of wisdom (cause I am POSITIVE that my kids will be good 100% of the time!! :)
A friend of mine linked to it a few weeks ago and I can't get enough of it. I don't know how people cope with losing a kid, I seriously don't.
Cameron hasn't really had a period of terrible twos... but he has had moments! We usually give him time out for two minutes and then we sit with him and talk about what he did wrong. I know most two year olds probably wouldn't understand... but he seems to, and it has worked for us.
A Daily Scoop is my cousins sister-in-law. What a small blogging world. She really is amazing and so strong. I have been following along and crying with her since that tragic day.
As for two year olds, the best thing that I have found is time out. Sounds super lame, but it seems to do the job the best.
Although I did have one kiddo that REFUSED to sit on that stool and I just had to go into survival mode with him.
Good luck! Kids can be soooo awesome and soooo rotten.
Check out Love and Logic techniques. There are some great books and tapes (CDs) that teach how to discipline ones as little as your darlings.
I try to keep things out of reach so Kate can't destroy quite as much, and time out and ignore are my main tactics. But this age is pretty hard to have things be 100% effective.
If he gets on your nerves too much, I just put him in his crib and let him scream it out until he's more in control and subdued. But as far as teaching them that things are not okay, that's when I've figured that a little swat on the hand or spank on the bottom is necessary. The other night Jack kept throwing his food and his dinnerwear at me and on the floor. He thought it was funny, so James and I both had to swat his hand and tell him in a stern voice that it wasn't okay. He was so shocked that we would yell at him and swat him. It didn't do much cause a few minutes later he'd do it again. I guess it just takes CONSISTENCY and that's the key. They'll learn eventually. Don't feel bad for trying to teach your kid (at this moldable age) what's right and wrong.
when my kids hit two it's like they change overnight! my sweet little baby turns into a little terror! ugh! sorry to hear about your adventures in the terrible twos. the only thing that i have found that works on my kids is putting them alone in their room when they misbehave--that and consistency. but, every kid is different. you're not alone. wes is constantly pushing my buttons these days. i just try to keep a sense of humor about it all...i said try.
Isn't it hard?
Seriously tough stuff.
Here's one thing that really worked for Ella. I drew a picture of a house smiling (colored with bright colors) and a house with a sad face (colored with dull colors). I glued them back to back on a sanded paint stirring stick.
During FHE (when things were NOT inflamitory) we discussed behaviors that could make our house (and the people in it) feel sad. And behaviors that brought happiness. Then we had her practice herself by giving her scenarios she struggled with and had her turn the house to display the correct face.
I kept that "house" on hand for about a week and showed it to her both for positive and negetive actions she did. After a week or two...she got VERY MUCH better.
I felt like this gave a sort of broad and udnerstandable concept of actions and consequences.
Read Dr. Sears' stuff on Discipline. It makes sense and is very loving. We really like his stuff.
And Emilie, are you for real? You sound amazing. Graet idea.
I don't get the phrase "Terrible Twos." I think twos are awesome. THREES are when they act up! :P Maybe something magical will happen tomorrow. :)
Okay. Uh, that earlier comment should have gone on the summer memories post. Duh.
Wait. Never mind. UGH. Something's weird with blogger and the emails they're sending. Hmmmm.
OH! It's because they're both called "Question of the Week." I'm stopping now.
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