If 2'S Are Not That Terrible, Will 3'S Be Fine Too???

People would say oh! no! you are entering the 2's then 3's then 4's. I truly have enjoyed my children at every age. Welcome every change, love every moment.

I think it should be called the terrible 3s! But it really depends on the disposition of the child. My son was easy. My daughter was not - 3s were terrible - like a nightmare!

Bwahahaha!!! 2 was a cake walk. 3 was pure hell. Have fun!!

Good luck. Every child is different but in my experience with my son and all of his peers.,...2 had NOTHING on 3. By far 3 was our most challenging year. He is 4 1/2 now and 4 is such a joy. At 3, some of his fits brought M. to tears because I felt so overwhelmed by my little Jeckyll and Hyde. They are trying to become more and more independent and become opinionated....but sometimes have a hard time just using their words instead of their body to tell you their wants/dislikes etc. In my experience, with 4, I sometimes just need to remind him that we use our words and that is al it takes. Once at 3, it took M. 25 minutes to buckle him into his carseat because of the way he thrashed about/angry that we had to leave. It is amazing how strong someone under 40 lbs could be. With my son, it was not a constant problem, we had a lot of fun that year....but wow...some of those fits I still remember and cringe.

TERRIBLE two's
THUNDEROUS three's
FEARSOME fours
FIGHTIN' fives

........and so on : )
welcome to toddlerhood

3s are pretty bad. They say boys get a surge in testosterone then and well..they are pretty aggressive/sassy/stubborn. I loved my boys always but there were times I didn't like them and 3 is one of those ages. They kinda need Dads then. 5 year olds are great..live for 5!

I never listened to those stereotypes about kids having the terrible twos... In fact, my son had the TERRIFIC TWOS... the TREMENDOUS THREEs and so on.............. I have relished every year of my son's life... Maybe we lucked out and had an even tempered child .. not sure.. but I just love every moment he is around... In my opinion. expect the BEST in your child... like adults, they too might have a bad day or two, but all in all... most kids are great... enjoy each stage.. believe M., it's flies by so quickly... as for a change in my son's behavior, he just gets better and better...

Best to you and yours

All kids are different, some are easy from birth to adulthood with no terrible twos, threes, etc. But boys OFTEN get worse at three and even four and five if you do not discipline effectively. If you continue ignoring tantrums or attending to him etc with no discipline for it, he may very well get way worse in near the future or even one or two years down the road. If so, this book is great "Back to Basics Discipline" by Janet Campbell Matson. If he stays easy: Lucky you!

My first was EASY. She was disciplined for like two tantrums in her life and never had any others. My son was more spirited but learned quickly not to tantrum (also as per that book) but was more stubborn about some other stuff. He's great now at 4, but not without lots of discipline from ages 1 to 3 (and now he's having a new round of challenging behavior as a normal spirited 4-year-old should). My third was very difficult right out of the gate, but she is very well behaved at three having had way more discipline than other two starting much younger.

It depends a lot on your kid and their personality. My son has always been a handful and he was very difficult at 3--but he had a new sibling. My daughter is an easy going kid and wasn't too difficult at 2 or at 3 (she is 3, almost 4 now). As kids get older they can be harder to distract but they also understand more and start to be less impulsive. Whenever you make changes try to prepare your child and explain things in an age appropriate way.

I have two girl's, twos were easy. Except for them testing us...not bad. Threes were, well lets say daily head butting. If we said black she said white, if I said down she said up..,,,, good Lord it seemed to never end! Both girl's were like this at 3! Ohhhh the days that I would tell myself over and over "I love my kids, I love my kids".... Lol. Can u say 3 going on 13! Good luck, I loved when they were 5, super sweet :) :) lol

My son was an angel until about 3-4 years old.
And then, the age phases kicked in... but with 2 and 3 and almost 4 years age-tweaks ALL kicking in at the same time.
He's 6 now, and is fine.

Just remember, that age phases and tweaks happens. But it is temporary.
And when a kid is like that, they often need more hugs/loving/and the Mom to really listen & hear them, too.

The book "Your Three Year Old" or "Your Four Year Old" or "Your Five Year Old" (from Amazon or Barnes & Noble) is really GREAT. Though written years ago, it is very pertinent. It simply describes what each age is like for the child and what they go through. Easy reading. And helpful. I have it.

With my boy, from about 2 years old, I taught him about feelings and the names for feelings, and how to say it. To M.. Just teaching a child HOW to communicate really helps. But the other side of the coin to that is... if/when your child communicates, then it will take the Mom to teach them about tones of voice too, etc. And that we do "hear" them. Kids like to be heard too.... besides just doing what we want all day long and/or being scolded. For example: when my son was 3, he knew the differences between him being grumpy or irritated or frustrated. And he would tell M.. That is good. Then I'd try to help him telling him we are a "Team." BUT... if I were to scold him for every little grumpy or frustrated or irritated mood he had (and kids have lots of those)...then, that would not be really fair. Because, I teach my kids to communicate with M. and tell M. how they feel. I don't just expect them to be happy and smiling all the time. So, for M., during the hard age-phases, it also.. takes a LOT of reflection on the part of the parent, too. Which also means, you will need to nip certain unwanted behaviors in the bud and teach boundaries... but you can't just nip a child's personality or imagination or the child themselves.

Anyway, some ages are hard. But it is also a time where the child needs you more. Because remember: Age phases may be hard. Yes. BUT it is not only hard for the parent, it is harder for the child going through it. Because, they are developing skills and knowledge, still. They do not yet have ALL the skills and knowledge we expect them to display, yet.

For my first, twos were easy and threes were when he really tested his independence and pushed boundaries. With consistent (loving) discipine he was over it by 4. My second child is pushing more at 2. I'm hoping that means he'll be through this phase by 3, but who knows? Every child is different.

Good luck!

Every kid is different, and Im sorry....unpredictable. My oldest has his rough patches but he was sick and a lot of asthma meds that contributed.

My middle from the day he was born was excessively needy. He started "terrible twos" around 15 months and rocked on until he was about 3.
My 3rd was a fairly easygoing baby although he was the sleeper from hell. Or should I say NON SLEEPER! Then at about 1 he started picking up his brother's slack. Screaming all the time, hates being confined, no where near as verbal as the other two etc. The jury is stil out on his threes because he just turned two. Wine has become B.F. most evenings to avoid going back to smoking a pack a day LOL
You just never know. My sisters last baby has been the most mellow easy going child I have ever seen. Her daughter was the exact opposite.

If he's 2.5 and still pretty mellow, you'll probably be okay. You just never know :)

I didn't find 3 that hard with my daughter. Mind you, 3 year olds don't listen, but at least the tantrums stopped.

I find 2.5-3 the hardest. I'm in the thick of it right now with my son. There is something Hitler like about 2 year olds. They want what they want and if they don't get it, they yell, hit, scream, and throw themselves about. I find with my son that as soon as he stops one inappropriate behavior, he tries out another one. It's all about independence. Some kids do this when they are two, some when they are three. It's developmental, like walking, but they are testing the boundaries and trying to become independent.

I honestly hate 2.5-3.

I'm liking 4. Lots of sass, lots of headaches, but way better than 2.

My son turned 3 a month ago and so far, 3's have been FAR harder than 2's!!! The fits, the fighting, the tantrums, etc. I think it should be Terrible 3's instead of Terrible 2's!! I've found that he's worse with M. than anyone else...so we just try to praise good behavior and reinforce good attitudes and listening. We put him in his room when he throws a fit and he can come out when he is done.

I have found it's every other year - and it can start on the half year

It's a developmental stage (cognitive & emotional stages actually)... So the VAST majority of people go through it. Most at 2. A lot at 3. Some at either 1 or 4 or both. A tiny minority skip altogether... But there's usually something wrong with them. (Abused kids, for example. Or certain disorders). But some normal kids skip. It's just very rare. Like being 7 feet tall. It happens. Just not very often, statistically.

And, yes. It really DOES last a whole year.

We had lovebug 2s... And terrible 3s @ our house.

Here's the big hint: there's a lot of stuff you can do to make it worse. But nothing will make it better, except moving through it / their brain developing more fully.

My son skipped the terrible 2's.
His 3's were not bad at all.
I learned what circumstances were likely to overwhelm him (too tired, too hungry, etc) and then we made sure he had a snack and/or a nap and that really solved most any problems we had.
Their language is really coming along at this stage - sometimes they have things they want to say and can't find a way to communicate and get so frustrated when M. just doesn't understand.
Read to him and sing a LOT and try hard to listen when he's trying to tell you something.
They get so busy playing they don't always hear you when you call/talk to them.
So - get his attention first (look at my face), then tell him what you need to tell him, ask him to repeat it back to you - NOW you can be sure he heard you and understands what you want from him.
Transitions from one activity to the next can sometimes be a problem.
Try giving 10 min and 5 minute heads up.
"You have 10 min before we have to go."
"You have 5 min before we leave - time to pick up / put away toys."
We had one day a week when we had a treat day after school (play ground, food court treat at the mall - something fun to look forward to) - so I'd remind him we've got something to do, we need to leave on time - it really helped.
9 times out of 10 a tantrum is avoidable (at least in hind sight it is).
There's sort of a mutual training process for you and the child.

My son has always been pretty easy going.
My niece has always been hell on wheels.

No one can really say what 3 and 4 will be like for him. My guy has always been high-spirited (he's 3.5) but changes bring it out full force. He started preschool 3 weeks ago and is a pistol! Had I not worked with him teaching him he can't always have his way and that tantrums aren't tolerated, I wouldn't be able to handle him now.

Changes affect everyone to some degree, so prepare your son for the changes well in advance, expect some acting out and more testing the waters as he exerts his independence, and hopefully you won't have to deal with the Tyrannical Three's and Ferocious Four's :)

3 is Hell for many parents. :)

If your child's temperament is mild & mellow, & with as in-tune as you seem to be (kudos to you!)......then all should be well. For M., I had one of each! Allowing autonomy, allowing personal choices (without going overboard & spoiling:), & making sure there's a good mix of free time vs. rest vs. a set schedule.....should help pull you through. Wishing you Peace!

Every child is different - even within the same family.

My daughter started the "Terrible 2's" immediately after she started walking - about 1 1/2 weeks after her 1st birthday. It didn't let up and actually continued to get worse until she was about 5 1/2. I think 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 was the absolute worst year. She's 6 now and so, so much better. We were consistent with discipline and didn't allow her to get away with things but that didn't seem to matter to her. She had a mind of her own and was very stubborn. Now she's finally coming around and we're seeing the payoff for all of our hard work! :)