My Son Is moody...help!!

K.-
I had a VERY difficult little man too! Moody sounds like a nice way to describe it :-) When he was about 2, we contacted the IU and had him evaluated. After a team came out and observed him and interviewed me, they decided he qualified for behavioral therapy. They came into our home once a week and worked with him. I found it very helpful. If you decide to go this route, do it now because if you get him in before he's schoolage (age 3) it's free. Once he hits 3, it's harder to get the services because the behavior problems have to directly affect his performance in school. If he won't be in school, that will be a problem! My guy wasn't in school so I was glad we did it early.
One more thing, I used to go into my pediatrician and tell him how difficult my son was and he NEVER told me about these free services. It made me very mad because I could've started them sooner, had I known about it. You have to be the one to request the evaluation and the sooner, the better. Good luck!

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I think that's pretty normal for this age. It's a good thing that he has a strong will and a strong sense of self! How is his speech? He may not be able to communicate everything he wants and thinks quite yet, and that's very frustrating. But well within the range of normal. I can't imagine a 2 year old that would actually want to sit still and not want to do things their own way. ;)

When you tell him "no", do you give him options or reasons? It's a lot easier to accept "No, that's hot and would burn you and I don't want you to get hurt" or "No, you can't have a cookie but you can have an apple" than just "No, mommy says no."

I also think it's important to reinforce that it's okay to feel mad, but that there are acceptable ways to express it. You should focus on making sure he's not hurting himself or others, or breaking things, not stopping him from being mad.

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There are only a couple of things I can think of to tell you: Keep his schedule predictable (especially eating and sleeping)and your responses to him predictable and consistent. Two year olds should have about a 2 hour nap in the afternoon and about 12 hrs. of sleep at night. Keep the foods/drinks you give him as healthy as possible. That will help prevent the drop in blood sugar after eating something sweet, which can make people pretty cranky. Bring plenty of distractions with you when you go on outings (books, crayons, matchbox cars, etc.). Don't stay out too long or expect him to behave for too long when doing "adult things." Give him plenty of time for physical play and interaction with friends. Set aside some time each day for cuddling and "tickle scratching" his back. My son calmed down alot in general after doing that for awhile.
The other thing is a book I used, which was great - Making The Terrible Twos Terrific, by John Rosemond. He has very strict ideas about toys and TV, but his behavioral strategies are just fantastic. He will show you how to solve seemingly unsolvable problems. Definite time outs for throwing things. Good luck to you. :)

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My son is now 2 1/2 and probably up until age 1 1/2 showed very little emotion and when he did it was unpleasant. It was very heartbreaking to tell him I loved him for him just to cut his eyes and cross his arms. I could not understand what could cause him to act in such a way. All the doctors would ever say is "he'll grow out of it". He is more than loved by everyone in our big family and I just could not understand. I would calmly ask him questions like what's wrong? are you scared? feeling left out? upset? etc. I just continued to pray and just showered him with unconditional love as always and he eventually smiled more and learned to express his feelings whether positive or negative.

He still gets upset (who doesn't) and says "I mad at you" etc. but he literally says "I love you" ten times as much. The good really weighs out the bad in the end.

I will pray that you will be given wisdom as to how to deal with your son and his moodiness! Let us know his progress!

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Im glad im not the only parent with a moody little man. My son just turned three and I find myself lost in the world of parenting.... So any advice you find, please send some this way!! And good luck!

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Hi K. the advise is good only one thing that I learned years ago from a book that I bought about parenting. Never never never, tell a child he is being a good boy or bad boy. I hear parents say If you are a good boy you will get a,b or c. Or don't be a bad boy etc. The assumption should always be that he is always good, but he makes bad choices. So when he does something that is unacceptable , tell him that you have a problem with his behavior and that you know that he can make a better choice. That puts the power in his hands. If he is still struggling with the choice give him 2 choices and let him pick. Guided empowerment. I have 4 kids and it has worked consistently for the last 16 years. I just wish I could find that book to tell you the title. Good luck. D.

Your son sounds exactly like my 2 1/2yr old boy!!! I thought i had some wierdly active almost bipolar son! One min he is bouncing off walls the next he is having a melt down over nothing. He gets soo mad when he doesnt get his way! Yet tells me NO all the time. I too am at my wits end with him, nothing seems to work. It also seems to come in spells, he'll be horrible for like 2 wks then so so or like 2 wks! Let me know if you get any good suggestions!!!

I had that issue with my oldest son---it will fadw away as quickly as it came on. Now I am going through it with my other son ---- and these boys are 20y and 16 yrs old-----help me

My son is 2 1/2 and I can never win an argument with him. Saying "no" to him makes him really upset. At first I tried to push it- thinking I was going to have to break him in, like a horse, but I remebered I had triend that with his older brother and it didn't turn out well- now I am back tracking with the older one and with both of them I am just showering them with love and attention- really stopping whatever else is on my agenda and giving them each all of my attention and love. It has made all the difference in the world. I still will not let my little guy ikck, which he wants to do sometimes, but other than that things are working well for all of us. When he starts to argue I just get his attention onto something else, and he happily moves on. My lap is always available for him, I try to stay physically close to him, often down at his height or on the floor. I think the more love and physical attentioon you can give him the better. The wilder the child the more you need to love them in close.
Good luck! C.