2 year old from angel child to the devil in disguise!

[jellybean321]

I have been scratching my head trying to come up with a solution for my sons behaviour with little answers yet...he has always been a strong willed child. As a baby he was very unsettled, always crying and has very little patience. As a toddler now 28 months he continues to be high maintenance but his behaviour baffles me. He will be so well behaved for nearly a 2 week period where he is patient, polite, happy to follow out lead, sharing with others etc etc and a delight to take out. On those weeks I don't worry about taking him out. YET the he will gradually change over a couple of days and then become a nightmare for usually about another 2/3 weeks..fighting with other children, aggressive, shouting at me and pointing, crying because he cant have his way, an embarrassment to take out for fear our explosive tantrums etc.. and no patience! This pattern continues and again we have a lovely boy for a period of time before the devil returns. So the question is ..is this normal toddler behaviour patterns or something else? We have looked into dietry issues (diary/gluten) and have tried eliminating each for lengths of time as he did have suspected milk protein intolerance as a baby but this has made no difference. Any other ideas or am I looking for something that isn't there?

[mckenzie]

Hi jellybean, sorry to hear this.
I'm no expert at all but just a thought. Could it be that when he's well behaved you go out more and do more with him and so eventually he gets tired?

[minipie]

Is there a difference in the amount of sleep he's getting during the angel/devil periods?

DD is Jekyll and Hyde too and it's definitely related to sleep... basically she will sleep well for a few days or weeks, and behave well, but then she seems to decide she's had enough of sleeping and will start to refuse to nap or spend ages falling asleep at bedtime... then she is tired and behaviour goes off a cliff for a few days. Then finally she'll start to sleep again, either because she's so tired by then or because we've managed to time nap time just right...

Also is he ill at all - even just a cold can make a big difference to DD?

[jellybean321]

Thanks minipie and McKenzie for replying. Sleep isn't the issue as he never fights it and still naps happily for 2/3 hours during the day and happily sleeps around 730pm-8am during the night undisturbed...so im baffled but really cant see what else to look out for..his Jekyll and hyde pattern is so difficult to manage on the bad weeks ..on the bad weeks his concentration and patience go out the window. He argues with EVERYTHING and yet on a good week he says ok and thankyou mummy when we explain things we are doing or things he cant do!!!? I don't think he is ill and I have tried hard monitoring his diet with a diary to see if any glaring differences but nothing really noticed...any more ideas ? could it be normal toddler behaviour and Im reading to much into it maybe?

[jellybean321]

any one? x

[Ferguson]

Does he attend any toddler groups, nursery etc? Does he meet any other children, and if/when he does how does he react with them?

Who else is in the household, Dad, siblings? Do you have any pets; does he play in a garden? What toys, games, activities does he have at home, and what sort of play does he prefer? What TV, radio does he see/hear, and does he have other screen-based 'tech'?

Sorry for all the questions, but I was a TA/helper in primary schools for twenty-five years, and I invariably feel there is an reason or cause for a child's behaviour or attitude, if only one can discover it - which, obviously, can be extremely difficult.

Are these periods of two weeks 'all right', then a transition period, then 2-3 weeks of 'devil' REALLY as clear cut, and consistent, as you say? Can you keep an ACCURATE record of the exact periods of time, and the corresponding behaviours, as I am wondering if you should make your GP aware of the situation, if there is no other explanation that MNers can come up with.

[jellybean321]

Thanks for replying. He goes to childmindwrs 3 days a week but im a teacher so he hsdnt been for the holidays and the pattern dosent link to that. Some days he likes to see other children anc some days on the devil days he just gets annoyed by them in his space. He lives with just me and his dad and loves animaks and playing in the garden. I have kept a diary but see no pattern so maybe its normal? When he changes from angel to devil i can tell its coming as over a day or so he starts to become more cross snd whiny over things.

[jellybean321]

Anyone?
Tried going for a walk t park today but he cried. Whined and stroped all the way. Pointing his finger at us and arguing abiut everything.. But better this evening! Is it normal? X