- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Parenting
So frustrated with dd.
Dd just turned 2 last week and she's a holy terror. We're majorly in the throes of the terrible 2s and I find myself totally short of patience with her. Ds never was this wild as a toddler so this is totally new to us.
I don't know what to do with her short of putting her in a cage. I can't take my eyes off of her for even a moment without her getting into something. Everytime I turn around she's stripped naked and is peeing somewhere in the house (she's newly potty trained and refuses diapers, but she also likes to pee in "creative" places).
She won't nap without a huge power struggle. In the time it takes me to go to the bathroom she's gotten into the trash and spread used coffee grounds all over the kitchen floor and her naked body. I leave a large bag of baking soda on the floor for just a moment while cleaning the tub to go get a sponge, it takes dd all of 10 seconds to dump 12 lbs. of baking soda on the floor. She gets ahold of ds's markers and draws all over everything.
She tantrums like I've never seen. She screeches and screams non-stop. She pulls hair, hits, and takes toys from other toddlers. She yells "No!" at me all day long. I have to physically force her into her carseat as she arches her back, screams and tries to get out because she doesn't like being strapped in anymore.
She scales furniture and climbs non-stop. She pushes chairs around the house and uses them to reach things that are out of her reach. Out of frustration the other day I ended up just putting her in her toddler-proof bedroom and closing the door so that I could cool down. Three minutes later I hear a loud bang, crash and crying- she had pushed a little child-sized chair that sits next to her bed over to the dresser, pulled out the drawers and climbed them like stair steps and then fallen.
I know that lots of this is pretty typical toddler behavior, but she's wearing me out. She's like a little wild, feral child and I just don't know what to do with her.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: So frustrated with dd.
DS - December 2006
DD - December 2008
Oh, wow. That would drive me batty. DS certainly has his moments, but they're not constant.
I'm sorry. I would lose my mind. I can't even think of what I would do if I were you.
Alex (11/14/06) and Nate (5/25/10)
"Want what you have, do what you can, be who you are." - Rev. Forrest Church
Hugs to you. My 2 yo has also been testing limits a lot lately, although he has never been a climber. I'd invest in some anchors for anything she could pull down.
What does she do when you put her in time out? Have you tried a reward chart? I've found this to work well. Instead of focusing on all the negatives, praise her for all the little god things she does.
We've just recently (as in the past few days) started putting her in time out. I don't know that she really understands it and I don't think it's all that effective, but it at least gives me a chance to cool down. She just sits there and cries.
I'm not sure if she'd grasp the concept of a reward chart yet either.
I should also add that dd has a bit of a speech delay and has been getting speech therapy for almost a year now. I sometimes think that part of her frustration and tantrums are because she can't communicate what she wants.
I'm having flashbacks to Gracie's 2 y/o nonsense! She's a lot better at using her energy for good now!
The best thing for her was to start our day at the park so she could run around and be all crazy and loud in an appropriate place. Then the rest of the day went much smoother. And baby proofing was so much more important for her than it was for the other girls!
Sounds like DD at that age. She was a terror from 18 mo - 24 mo. It was truly awful some days. I had to re-baby proof the house. Move your trash somewhere she can't get to it, don't leave out open items she can easily get into. Put up markers, etc, out of her reach. We had to re-latch our kitchen cabinets w/ the magnetic locks because she'd figured out the plastic latches. I had to turn ALL of our dining room and kitchen bar chairs on their sides so she couldn't climb on them. I'd turn them over when I was home w/ her and then upright them @ night when DH was home.
I'd start by eliminating common things that get her in trouble. Reintroduce items as she gets older. Also, like Dande said, wear her butt out. Easier said than done, I know!
No car seat advice. DD did it as well, and I just had to wrestle her in the seat.
Good luck.
Christmas 2011
Yeah, that is - or was - DD. Not QUITE that bad, but defnitely a trouble-maker and a tantrumer - and DS was never like that. At all.
She's a little speech-delayed too. Once the language started coming, the tantrums have gotten so much better. She's still a troublemaker, but responds better to timeout/etc.
Have some hope - DD is only a few months older than yours. This too shall pass.
Are you talking about my DD??
Sorry, I think that unfortunatly it is typical for this age. Miles was never CRAZY.. DD on the other hand makes me wonder WTF I was thinking when I had a 2nd child.
DS was like this at 2. He's still like this to a certain degree at almost 4. To say life can be frustrating with him, is a big understatement.
All I can say is hang in there. Get her tested for delays if you like (DS is in EI preschool for some delays) and/or get her tested for hidden allergies that can affect behavior (short info here) or talk to her ped.
Good luck. I know how frustrating your situation must be.