DS is becoming a little meanie lately.. help!

Luckie519

In the past couple of weeks, I have started to notice some changes in DS' behavior.  He is going to be 3 in July and has always been a sweet kid.  We have had next to no problems with him.  He has always been very loving and considerate.  I know it's probably just a phase and I am fine with that, but maybe some of you ladies can give me some helpful tips on how to make this as painless as possible for everyone involved.  DS throws toys and has tantrums, where he storms into his room when he does not get his way. 

The other night we were going out to dinner for DH's bday and DS asked for a string cheese.  I gave him one, since we were running late with dinner.  He asked for another one and I said no.  He marched to the fridge and took another one out of the drawer.  I knelt down beside him, took the cheese away and told him that I had told him no.  I wasn't yelling or upset.  He ended up pushing me twice, hitting me in the face (this was not intentional).  He has just never acted like this.  We gave him time out and of course, he cries at his door, yelling "Mommy, help me!"  It breaks my heart.

We don't really spank (we have, just not a huge fan, especially this young) , we do more time outs.  I just need a little help from the ladies with some experience.  TIA!

Kristen050

My DS will also be 3 and July and we are going through the exact same thing. Every day is a battle. I will be interested to hear the responses but we try to remember that it's just his age and this phase will pass. We just try to stay consistent and give consequences when he doesn't listen. Sometimes though its extra frustrating when he is so blatantly defiant. You can tell he knows exactly what he's doing! We don't spank either but last night I was this.close. I also try to remember the more frustrated I get the more he knows he gets a rise out of me.

Tigger & pooh

Ds started around 3 and a half and is now 4. I am pretty sure I am raising a sociopath but he sure is a cute one!

BluepointToasted

SOS Help for Parents is a really good book on behavior modification for younger kids.  I used to recommend and use it all the time when working with a preschool population.  It's short, to the point, and has lots of catchy sayings so it is easy to remember the techniques.

GoombaGirl_79

Oh dear. My little guy went through a phase like this really recently.. I think it's just the age and some kids just go through it harder than others? I swear my DS was so close to being locked away until he was 5 hahaha.. he was SO angry and grumpy for every little thing! Huge tantrums, screaming "NO!!!" at us, pushing, the works! Screaming intensely at us if we raised our voices at all, you know the "parent voice", not yelling just firm.  We typically also only do time-outs, or removing privileges. A couple of times for extreme things he got a smack on his hand followed by the time out (and I had vowed never to use any kind of spanking!!)  It lasted about 4 or 5 months, and was made worse I think by the fact that we moved during that time. Also I think it's a big brain development time...

He's feeling WAY better now, and while of course still has a tantrum from time to time and can be VERY mouthy when he's in "that mood", he's much more back to his old cute self :-D My advice I guess is just be patient (as patient as you can be during this, I know...) and it will pass. It was super rough for us but he's back to being a sweetheart and is so polite, we get compliments from strangers all the time!