Terrible Twos

Dealing with the terrible two’s can sometime be very challenging and sometimes can be funny. Being a parent myself of two young kids, there have been plenty of times they have thrown a tantrum about something so silly that you have to try and not laugh. There are other times where you just want to scream and it can be very frustrating.

One of the things I have had a hard time with as a parent is my son hitting my daughter. I have learned that by me punishing him and yelling at him and paying attention to him (even though I am yelling at him and telling him he is wrong) he sees it as him getting me to give him my undivided attention. I have recently converted to sticking him in the corner and telling him no and then paying attention to my daughter and telling her what a good girl she is and I have seen a complete change in my son and him hitting her.

I also struggle trying to get my son to eat anything more than chicken nuggets and peanut butter and fluff sandwiches for lunch and diner. I have started to put things he wouldn’t normally eat on the plate with his chicken or sandwich and just keep showing him new things and he has started to try other things like corn on the cob and noodles along with cheese and eggs here and there.

One thing that I have learned as a parent and to just do things the way you want and are comfortable with and to pick the battles that you can win with you kids. I have learned that you will cause less stress to yourself by letting kids be kids as long as they are not hurting themselves or others. My son loves to play golf or with any type of balls and when the weather isn’t the greatest outside I let him hit plastic balls or play with certain softer balls in the house. People sometimes tell me that I am crazy for allowing them to play in the house like that but the way I see it is he enjoys it and it keeps him busy. When you have young kids you shouldn’t have breakable stuff in the house at first, and when the kids are happy – you are usually happy as well.

One struggle I have been dealing with is toilet training my son who is 27 months old. I have been putting underwear on him while we are home and he realizes when he has to go to the bathroom but never tells anyone. I have started a sticker chart to give him a sticker every time he goes and then when he gets a full row we go to the store and get a toy. I have also tried things as making him change his cloths when he wets and sick it in for about 5-10 minutes so it becomes uncomfortable to him and he has started to go on the potty more. I also take him in the bathroom every 2 hours or so and explain that everyone has to try to go, even if you really don’t have to.

I hope these tips help a little, and if anyone has any suggestions or tips on things I can try I would greatly welcome any help.