Toddlers: 24 Months+
jw87
member
How to help tame horrible behavior?
jw87
member
DS was doing so well with TO, but then he hit 3 and I don't know what it's in the air but he's being extremely defiant and testing me right and left.
I'm so frustrated. I keep my patience with him and put him in TO for 3 minutes, and I do the 1,2,3 magic so he gets 3 chances to shape up before time out (normally, unless he does something that is an automatic 3)
The other night, I said to him... "Honey be careful you might spill Mommy's drink." Then he flat out spilled it on purpose and laughed. He got a timeout, and I had to steam clean the carpet. It's constantly things just like this on purpose. When I ask him to do simple things, like... say wash our hands after using the potty, his legs will go limp, he won't stand and he'll throw his arms around in the water so it lands EVERYWHERE! Same in the bathtub, he kicks water out at me when it's time to get out because he doesn't want to. Everything is a joke. I've really kept my cool for all of this, and just followed through with TO but it's not working. These are just a few examples of his behavior.
Any advice???? HELP! I'm going to rip my hair out... and I've been eating like crazy which is not helping my waist line :S
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Re: How to help tame horrible behavior?
I don't really have any advice, but wanted to say that when my DD turned 3, she also turned into Satan. Defiance seems to be the key word nowadays. She also does a lot of things on purpose, drops herself to the ground limp & won't stand up, and will look straight at me & do the exact thing I told her not to do & do it with a smile on her face.
I've read that 3 is a very insecure age for them, despite what it seems, and that a lot of this is them acting out of insecurity & trying to find boundaries.
Either way, it's enough to push you to insanity. Hang in there!! I hear it gets better....:-)
Take him outside and play!! My girl is two, she was regularly "toddler" hiking two miles a day, climbing, running, jumping.. I doubled our outdoor and activity time from 2-4 hours and she responded right away
Once you exhaust him with play and exploration and running and tumbling, he'll increasingly be able to focus his attention on tasks at hand. my girl can't focus for long (unless she was in nature.. she could play with water or dirt/mud or sand or rocks for quite awhile)..but when I include this large amount of activity she will sit happily and play by herself while I do my own chores.
It sounds like you need some time to yourself as well! Don't forget about taking care of yourself, get in a walk or hot bath for you alone even if it is for a short time any time alone helps.
Little Rose is 2 1/2.