I hope this is normal 2 yr old behavior..?

MommaHen1984

So DS will be 2 next week and I think we are hitting the so called terrible twos. His tantrums lately are off the charts. They arent too often, but when they are its pretty terrible. When he throws one, he pretty much tries to destory anything in his path. I try to put him in the center of the room on the floor but I cant always get to him quick enough and something he grabs stuff and throws it or hits or whatever. Ok no big deal. But last night, he wanted to watch more TV ( we watch about 25 min of TV right before bed, hes really into the TV, only before bed) and I told him no, it was time for bed and I love you, see you in the morning, etc etc. Well he cried for about 20 min hysterically in his crib and finally I went in to give him a sip of water and he CHEWED the top of the crib rail! I mean chewed it like a little beaver. Its pretty much destroyed. I was freaked out. I mean was that his way of saying I am really mad and that was the only thing he could get to or is it something else?

mcgeeva

I can't answer about the chewing on rails since my son never did that. But my son did have a ton of meltdowns around that age. With them having a hard time communicating and not getting their way it's bound to happen. I still let me son know it wasn't acceptable or ignore his flailing and feet stomping until he was done. I guess the only thing you could do is put a rail cover on? But he could probably rip it off. 

RedDDD

Im gonna say its not totally out of bounds for that age.  My son is 2.5 and he will occasionally get really keyed up like that.  At 2 this will be difficult but what works sometimes for us is I tell him when he is mad he can punch the pillow/couch/mattress.  I talk to him a LOT about his feelings and say things like "are you frustrated?"  "are you mad?"  "what are you mad about?"  I dont think he really got what I was saying until recently but you can at least get in the habit of talking about it.  The other thing I think is tough at this age and creates meltdowns is transitions.  I posted on here a few days ago about having trouble with transitions.  So any transition....whether it is getting ready to leave the house or stopping watching TV to go to bed is difficult for them at this age to grasp because they 1. don't gave the language to say Im busy and want to keep doing what I am doing and 2. they live in the moment and dont understand that stopping something is temporary.  I think it helps to get on their level, talk to them in a calm manner, and if they are still going on and on let them have their moment.  I always say I love you and mommy is here when you calm down or are ready to talk.  But maybe prepping him for the transition from TV to bed time is the way to go.  This is a helpful short article from parents magazine that I found useful.  GL!

https://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/behavioral/easing-daily-transitions/

redtoes13

I know a few toddlers who have chewed their cribs. FYI.

JENandJEH

I made a crib rail guard for our crib because DS2 began chewing it when he was teething.  I don't think it's out of the realm of possible for a 2 year old.  

DawnJM25

DS will be 2 at the end of November and I've started noticing more emotional outbursts. Not full blown tantrums yet, but he hits/kicks/pulls on things when he's frustrated about something.  I haven't noticed him chewing on things, but I wouldn't be too concerned if he's venting frustration.  Both of my kids have chewed their cribs when they have been teething. 

Heavensent72

My son will be 2 next Friday and he has some serious meltdowns, and it does not help that we recently took away the pacifier but he will throw tantrums, fall out, and hit (if he is really mad).  He has not chewed on anything yet but I think that they just try to do damage to whatever is close to them to make the world feel as bad as them. Lol!  Once when my son was throwing a tantrum, (I ignore those by the way) well I guess he said enough is enough I was reading a paper he took the paper, balled it up, ripped it a bit, and threw it.  I was so surprised I wanted to laugh but I knew he was serious and I did not want to hurt his feelings further, but this is my first boy and he is way emotional than what my daughter was when she was his age. 

colemangal85

As soon as my son turned two -- he hit tantrum city HARD! He would throw, kick, yell -- he never chewed on his crib but a few weeks went by and we ignored him as much as we could when he threw a fit like that and he has gotten better -- back to his normal self. He still gets mad at times but we are working on it.