TERRIBLE 2'S!!! - Saint Charles,MO

Hi S.,
I'm on the downhill run of the terrible 2's with my little girl. She turned 2 in May and she's been throwing tantrums over the dumbest things ever since that day. The hard part is exactly what you mention, you feel like you're failing somewhere. My advice, that somewhat works, is to walk away from Caleb when he's having his tantrum. If he doesn't have an audience, he'll feel that it's a waste of time to throw a fit.....and it'll be easier on you and your ears.

At this age, you have to keep in mind that they're testing their limits as well as yours. Don't let him see you sweat it. It'll just encourage him more. Our precious sweet little girl gets so bad with hers that we cannot take her in public for very long. We've also had to forgo any eating out establishments because she just runs all over the place or will throw a fit if you try to confine her to a booth.

Just remember that this doesn't last forever, but definitely don't let him run the house. If you let him now, he will forever..........at least that's what I've been told a million times. It's sort of a mantra I tell myself when one of my daughter's fits is getting the best of me.

Good luck & God bless!

My son is in the middle of that right now, too. There are three things that I've found to help, depending on the attitude of the tantrum:
1. Have him lay on his bed to calm down. Many times my son is so upset that he can't get out what he wants or why he's upset, and I get worked up, too. This is a nice time-out for mommy and toddler. I just make sure he knows that it's not because he did anything bad. He just needs to calm down.
2. Have him show me what he wants/Show him that I'm not keeping anything from him. Sometimes he wants a certain food or drink and he can't see into the cabinets to know that we really are all out. I pick him up and let him see into the cabinet. I show him that the (raisins) are all gone, and then let him choose his snack. Once he knows that he can have some control, he calms down. Plus, he is distracted by looking into the cupboards, which is a real treat for him!
3. Hold him and love him. When his world is falling apart, sometimes it helps him that I just hold him.
Good luck!

Your not failing...just hang in there...three is way worse..lol.
Good luck!

Unfortunately this seems to go on for awhile, it just changes as they get older. My daughter didn't really get the "terrible 2's", instead it was the "terrifying 3's" and the "frightening 4's". We are almost through the 4's and I have noticed a change. It is slow but hopefully by the time she turns 5, we will be good to go.

Nothing really worked well for her for very long. One method would work for awhile, then I would have to change the method. Giving her a relax time, probably worked the best when it worked. I would sit her on the couch or chair, no tv to let her get it out of her system. She wasn't allowed to get up until she had calmed down and had mostly stopped crying so I could understand what she was trying to tell me. When it seemed that she was in a "better place", I would ask her if she was better and could talk to me now or did she need more relax time. Sometimes she was ready and sometimes she said she needed more relax time. When she was ready, I would hold her and ask her what was going on, let her talk it out, take care of the problem and it was over. We moved on to the next thing.

I know it makes you feel horrible, like you are failing and that maybe you are the worst mom in the world. I assure you, you are not. "This too shall pass......"