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Cincinnati Babies
terrible twos ?
DD has kind of thrown me a curve ball the past few weeks and I'm hoping someone has some insight. She's going through the whole independent streak and has mastered the use of the word "no", but that isn't what is bothering me.
She randomly breaks down crying, and we'll have whole days where she just cries off and on over little things. This morning she got a string from her banana on her shorts that sent her into a meltdown like she was hurt. I picked her up and a few moments later she was fine. She almost acts like she is teething when she got her molars but I don't feel any teeth. She isn't acting sick otherwise, no fever, motrin doesn't help. Some nights she even goes to bed by 6 or 6:30 because she is just pooped and crying because she is tired.
Is this just a phase? Something else? I don't think she is sick since she had a great day yesterday with really no crying and even slept in until 7:30 instead of getting up at 5, but I'm stumped otherwise what the deal is.
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Re: terrible twos ?
Charlotte is about the same age and she does some of the same things. She can be perfectly happy and then change to meltdown in 30 seconds flat. I notice that her meltdowns seem to come from being frustrated. Like her hands are dirty and she can't get the dirt off, or she keeps putting a puzzle piece in sideways and it won't fit...procede to cry. I try to ignore it or calmly ask her "Do you want help from Mommy?"
Anyway, your not alone and I'm certainly hoping it's a short lived phase....ugh.
This has been happening to us and gradually getting worse especially when he is tired and irritable. I ignore it and try and redirect sometimes, it definitely wears on my patience and since his 2nd yr molars aren't through yet I am putting the blame partially on them. As someone who it took years for my wisdom teeth to come through I would get irritable when they tried to come through so I understand he isn't too happy.
I also remember DS1 doing something similar but when he turned 3 he was a new child so I am just going to shoulder on and hopefully not go insane in the process.
DD has been doing the same for a while now. As a matter of fact, much of what teacherjess described below is what we've been dealing with. So God help us if it gets worse when she turns three!
Mostly, we try to redirect or ignore. If it's something more serious, we put her in timeout for two minutes (we started that when she was around two.) We put her in the same spot each time and set a timer that she can see/hear. I think she gets the concept, although she finds it funny to try to put us in timeout.
Like PPs, I think a lot of the acting out stems from frustration...like when she can't accomplish something she wants to do or can't quite communicate what she is thinking/feeling. I just try to be patient, offer my help and then walk away if I'm getting no where with her. Luckily, it isn't everyday that she acts out!
Brady has been the same way for a few months now, and it's frustrating because he has always been the most easygoing, happy kid. He'll have days when he's his normal self, and then he'll have days where everything sets him off and he throws tantrums for seemingly no reason. I even took him to the pedi yesterday because he was SO irritable the day before and had been playing with his ears (no ear infection, just a streak of the brats!). I try to ignore him, and if he is throwing a tantrum because he wants something he can't have, I'll get down on his level and calmly tell him that he needs to stop whining. If he doesn't stop or gets mean about it, I will warn him and give him a short one minute time out, which actually helps a lot. He sits in a chair in our living room, and sometimes just sitting there for a minute and screaming lets him get his frustration out and he chills out. I thought he'd never get the concept and stay at this age, but now usually a warning helps him to check his attitude. Of course, I don't use it all the time (usually once every several days, really) and I don't use except in drawn out situations, but if I give him a warning and he keeps it up, I follow through.
It's frustrating, isn't it? Reading the post last night about three being worse scares me to death, because I think a year of this will be quite enough!
Our DD's are almost the same age. Our pedi told us at 15 months to start timeouts. He suggested putting her in a pack-in-play. Her crib is not a good idea because she will associate punishment with her bed.
Thanks for the info! We really don't have anywhere to set up a playpen or the like, and she figured out how to climb out of ours. Right now I've just been holding her hands to stop whatever she's doing (tonight it was trying to hit the cat with a toy) telling her no do not...whatever she's doing...and it seems to at least get her to stop for the moment. Time outs are in the near future though if I can find a place to sit her, she won't sit on her own yet that much I know.