Play-Learn-Grow-Repeat

From Friday Mom – Erin:
That is how Charlotte’s teachers characterized her day yesterday.  Apparently she was even bossier than usual, so much so that her primary teacher asked what we had done to her the night before.  She wouldn’t allow anyone to do anything any way other than HER way.  And it was bad enough that her teachers wrote it down on her daily report sheet.

At almost two, my biggest concern is that what we’re seeing isn’t actually a passing, one-day thing, and, instead her true terrible twos.  I believe I mentioned earlier this year that I thought she had “early onset twos.”  I genuinely thought she was ahead of the game and that maybe we’d be out of the woods sooner.  Now, I’m starting to think it was a mere fraction of the fire and independence this little spitfire is going to have in the coming year.  Sure, its terrific that she’s communicating, and it is starting to feel as though we have two independent (yet still very, very dependent) children on our hands.  But when she is. . . feisty. . . oh man is she ever.

The good news, so far, is that she does seem to listen to redirection and firm instructions reasonably well.  So, if worst comes to worst, we’ll just end up introducing more of the discipline tactics that we used on her big brother a bit sooner than we had to with him.  And in the interim, we’ll probably work on finding ways to channel that determination towards something other than just forcing us to do what we’re told.

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
A few days ago, my sweet, beloved angel boy Hudson bit me. Hard. Drawing blood. The spot on my arm was even swollen for a few hours. It hurt. Like heck.

He wasn’t even mad or frustrated for any reason prior to his attack. I think he did it just for the fun of it. I admonished him sternly immediately after. He then fake-cried, communicating some weak remorse, before laughing again as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

I know that Hudson is doing what two year olds do. He is testing his limits. He’s testing his teeth! He’s testing how to deal with people socially. It’s my job to show him right and wrong, calmly, but it’s hard to keep your cool when someone’s inflicted pain upon you for his own enjoyment! But I try my best. There’s nothing really more to say to a child than, “We don’t bite.” Such a simple statement, yet so true.

I hope that Hudson’s biting days are soon behind him, but being that he doesn’t have his two year molars yet, I’m not holding my breath. I may, however, invest in some chew toys.

From Friday Mom – Erin:
Rory is a full-blown two-year old – and a stubborn one, at that.  We have reached a bit of a roadblock when it comes to morning and evening routines.  Getting dressed, whether for school or for bed, has devolved into an epic battle of wills and the front line is Rory’s bedroom.

The struggle varies based on the time of day.  In the morning, he often refuses to take off his sopping wet diaper and put on his clothes for the day.  We let him choose from a handful of outfits, and we let him help dress himself “like a big boy,” but, alas, he favors running away over cooperating.

The scene in the evening is largely similar.  He resists the diaper after his bath;  he has even peed in the corner of his room rather than sit down to be diapered.  We let him choose his pajamas and tell him that it is time to help put them on, but he much prefers swinging them above his head like a lasso.

We are pretty close to wits end.  His antics make it very hard for either of us to manage solo.  Our current approach is to leave the room and ask him to come get us when he is ready to be helpful.  Unfortunately, this usually ends in a fit of tears and can prolong the routine well beyond his normal bedtime.  However, until we can show Rory that we will not give him the negative attention he so strongly desires, we are caught in a vicious cycle of giving in to his desires each time we lose our cool.

I know we’ll outwit him eventually, but at the moment, these battles can seem endless.

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
Lately, whenever Haley and I leave the house for an outing, she’s been really good about getting into her stroller. I guess she’s excited about our stated destination and has some gained some maturity and insight about what it takes to get there efficiently. However, leaving wherever we are to go back home is a huge challenge. That’s when Haley wants to “walk-walk” and the battle begins. I’ve been reduced to bribery to get her to cooperate. I entice her to get into the stroller with a lollipop—awful, I know. If she rejects the lollipop, I often force her into the stroller while she literally kicks and screams. It takes all of my physical ability to accomplish this. Then she wails as I push the stroller pass folks staring at us. To calm her down, I hand her the lollipop she previously rejected.

I’m not proud of bribing my two-year old, but it often works when nothing else does. In fact, I’m thinking of offering her something I once thought I’d never give my young child—nail polish. The thing is, Haley adores nail polish. She loves when I wear it. She loves seeing it at the drugstore. She points it out in magazines. She talks about it all the time. I have no idea why she has such a fascination, but she does. So I plan to use it as an enticement. I haven’t decided if it’s going to be used to get her to stay in her bed at night, eat more of her food, or perhaps down the road for potty training, but I consider it my ace in the hole.

The “two’s” are a very challenging time. Haley is pushing us to the limit. She often exhibits behavior she clearly knows is wrong just to see what will happen. If she doesn’t like what’s going on, she feels she has absolutely nothing to lose by lying on the floor screaming—no matter if we’re in public! At this age, kids also start to have strong preferences for different things. I feel I have no choice but to use this to my advantage. I worry that I may be setting myself up for “problems down the road.” But for now, I just need her to sit in that darn stroller!