2 Questions About My 3 Year Old Son

For sass we give an attitude adjustment. Usually my "mommy look" does the trick though.

For roughness, they will play as rough as you let them. However, I would teach them to play nice. 3 is a great age to teach them the right time to be rough and the right time to play nice.

answer to #1) awesome I get to go to bed now too, oh that makes me feel so much better but you know all lights are off when mommy goes to bed. head towards your room i bet he is screaming no and tell him you will stay up this once but if he tells you to go to bed again that you really will and you won't be awake to tuck him in (some may question my parenting skills, but its alright they are very loved children)

answer to #2) yes that is normal. 3 year olds as I say don't know their place in space. they dont know to bob and weave they just go for it full force. I've known people with kids who have all grown up and moved out and they finally bought nice stuff and said they couldn't have nice stuff with 2-3 boys running around the house it would all get broken. The saying boys will be boys came from somewhere right? if it becomes a little too much or there is a chance the little one could get hurt just stop him look him in the eye and tell him that he really needs to calm down and watch what he is doing before so and so gets hurt or there will be time out if that happens.

Regarding sass: we have a "penalty board". Each child has a hook. We have lots of penalty cards that have chores on them. Obnoxious arguing gets them a penalty card. They have to clear their hook before they get any screen time or sweets. Sometimes it takes them a week. Usually the little ones need help doing their chore. We spend the whole chore (like cleaning the toilet) talking about *why* they have the chore.

Regarding rough play, is someone actually getting hurt?

If someone is getting hurt, define it as a problem and ask your older child to think of solutions. ("Wow, baby brother is crying. Do you know why? How do you think we could make sure he doesn't get hurt again?) Also, involve your older child in caring for his baby brother when he gets hurt. He could bring an ice pack, offer a hug, give a stuffed animal, etc.

However, if everyone is having fun and you see no immediate danger of serious injuries, let it go.

It was my 6 year old that discovered that her baby brother loved having stuffed animals thrown in his face. It never would have occurred to me to chuck a teddybear at my infant's head, but he loved it. It became one of the ways she took care of him for me. I'd make dinner. She'd sit there and throw stuffed animals at his face. He'd cackle with delight.

Kids are sometimes very strange.

For #1, I hate to say it, but it depends how tired I am. If I'm rested and in a good mood, I use humor. Usually I'll just laugh and say an exaggerated, "WHAT?? That's not very nice, is it?" and that will get my almost 4 year old laughing too. I mean really, it is pretty funny for a little 3 year old to tell his/her mommy to go to bed. We all know it doesn't work that way. Once my daughter was really mad at me and she said, "you are breaking me into pieces" I thought it was such a clever and funny way for her to describe how she was feeling. We both started laughing. Now I say that to her when I realize we're being ridiculous. If I'm not exhausted I cam step back and not react when she gets sassy. After all, that's what we are trying to teach our kids, to ask someone not to speak to them in a rude way instead of reacting, right?

#2, my daughter is the older one (will be 4 in Sept.) and my son is almost 9 months. She has always been very sweet and gentle with all of her dolls, friends, toys. But since her baby brother was born she has always been SO rough with him. People keep telling me it's jealousy. The thing is, he always laughs (well, as soon as he learned to laugh). We remind our daughter that he might be bigger than her one day, so she should be nice to him, and she is teaching him how to treat other kids, so she should be sweet with him. But as long as he is happy, we're trying not to interfere.

they always beat on each other, and mine are teens

I have an almost 3 yo boy and an 8 month old. My older one is definitely sassing it up. I just firmly remind him when he gets in those moods first that's not nice language, if it's really bad attitude maybe a time out again with you don't say that. And on the really bad behavior a firm stance of Mama is the boss, so right now you listen. Usually by the second level he gets it, it's tiring but my husband and I are committed to stay on him. I think its just that independence growing in them that makes them test the limits.

For the second part, yes he is rough with his brother, but as others have said, it's always playful. I think now that my little one is much more interactive he's excited to play and roughhouse but doesnt' realize little brother isn't ready for that, so again we have to keep an eye on them and just remind him that his brother is still small and can't play that way.

For the sass ( which is normal) usually a mom look will do it but if not there is always- You know better than to talk to me like that.
As for the rough playing this is also normal and yes your little one will learn to stand up for himself. Mine are 6 years apart so there wasnt a whole lot of rough for the first few years but now I can honestly tell you I think it is entirely possible that the 8 year old could take the 15 year old in a straight up fight

Re: #2, I have a girl and 2 boys and boys can be more rambunctious but at the same time I think sometimes parents buy into the whole "boys will be boys" mentality and let them do things that they wouldn't let their girls do.

it drives me crazy sometimes too. my oldest belongs in a mosh pit. his little brother came out much calmer but i knew it couldn't last with the example he had in his brother. my brother's boys are opposite-- the younger one is the rough one. keep reminding them to be calm and gentle, slow down in the house, take away any toy they hit with, etc. you may have to keep a very close watch on them for quite a while, until your oldest learns to handle his body better. good luck! you can do it!

my 3 yr old is becoming super-sassy too. I hope more posts answer that question, as I don't know WHAT to do with it! My son will say "Mom I told you 3 times already!" just like I tell him. So I am trying to watch MYwords b/c he's repeating them a lot.