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The terrible threes?
Did anyone else's sweet kid turn into a total nightmare when they turned three? DS will be three in a month and is not the same child recently. He didn't really have the terrible twos - a few fits here and there - but recently its like several times a day. Today he had a fit in the mall because I wouldn't buy him a toy. I had to carry him kicking and screaming the entire length of the mall back to my car.
What good advice have you gotten on dealing with this behavior?
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Re: The terrible threes?
Yep. DD has only been 3 for almost 4 months and she's been driving us crazy! The whining is out of control and her attitude and behavior is ridiculous.
We started a reward system with her. She earns marbles for certain behaviors and when she fills the jar she gets to pick a special treat. It's working really well. She gets marbles for things like staying in her bed at bedtime, using table manners, using a big girl voice, following directions, etc. Her treats are things like going to get ice cream, visiting the local bounce house place, movie night at home, etc.
My son also didn't seem to get to the real defiant stage until he was 3. I just tried to remind myself that it's an important part of human development, and that -- as annoying as it is for the mommy -- they have to learn to assert themselves and separate from mom at some point!
Best bet -- be consistent, keep a sense of humor, and don't take their defiance personally. It's their job description as toddlers to go through this.
Our DD has become a monster as well. The sassy tounge, not listening, fit throwing, the list goes on and on. Then people keep asking why we arent prego yet and i say... spend a full day(wake up to wake up) and tell me how you could have another one now. But we LOVE her so much.