WHY does nobody warn you about the Terrible Three’s!!!

[doingitforthefrill]

Everybody warns you about the terrible two’s - terrible three’s has nothing on that!

I am going to go crazy.

My recently turned 3 year old has turned from angel child to devil over night. The first day I put it down to her being tired, but she has remained like it for a whole WEEK!

She has the attitude of a teenager, nothing I do is right, I don’t know how my floorboards have held up with the amount of stomping of feet.

Her older brother was not like this.. Please tell me she will snap out of this?!

Nope, sorry. Next is the fucking fours.

There's definitely a reason why they get called "threenagers"

Umm it’s a very well known difficult stage. Everyone talks about it. They call them threenagers. Not sure how you can have missed it tbh

Hang in there...It will pass! I tried to remind myself that my job as a parent was to hold emotions they couldn’t cope with for them and give them back in bite sized chucks they could cope with...and always have the next solo time for me planned so I could hold out for it! It doesn’t need fixing, in my opinion...just surviving. My relative always says there is a reason school takes children from 4 going on 5... they just get lovely and it’s time for school!

I came on to mention fucking fours and fives

Then you get a ‘fournado’ 😂
Mine improved at about age 6. He’s mostly lovely now.

The fucking fours break me. Mine were all OK two- and three-year-olds, but at four they became atrocious.

We were fine until the terrible fives. Sorry.

My MIL used to say 'terrible twos, troublesome threes, fearsome fours, then off to school..."

All of mine mellowed out as they got older, though my 15 year old has been giving my floorboards and doors some stress testing this last month or so...

Yup, definitely worse than the twos...

DS2 is 9 now, and a relatively happy, well behaved thing. At 2 he was a darling, always smiling, happy, snuggly. The moment he opened his eyes on his third birthday he realised he had free will and spent the better part of an entire year doing whatever the fuck he felt like doing, with me frantically whispering to DH "is he broken?"

No idea why he turned like it - I honestly felt like he was possessed by demons sometimes. We used to go to a playgroup each Tuesday morning and for about 4 weeks on the trot he bowled in, smacked a kid across the head and had to be removed like an angry rugby ball under my armpit before I'd even sat down. I think it was only because I kept removing him and driving him home with a face like thunder that he gave up the smacking, but it was mortifying because he'd never done anything like it before.

DS2's terrible threes were the reason we didn't brave a third child.

I’m holding no hope out for the fours and fives then! But at least I’ll be prepared..

My DS has just turned 5 as well and has had a few tantrums this week too. God help me.

@FudgeBrownie2019 - funny you should say that, we were considering a 3rd but after the week we’ve had then it’s a bit fat no for now!

I’m with you. I have a just turned three year old and Jesus God...

*big

Both my DCs were nice as pie aged 2. Age 3 was a tough time with both of them but then everything suddenly got easier. They could put shoes on, understand simple instructions, sleep better at night, no nappies etc. Our family life has become monumentally more er njoyable since youngest turned 3.

@Braveheart101 - Stay strong, we’ve got this.. I have not got this at all

The key to surviving is our household was a nursery (relatives would work equally well!) that they just love (& go to often without you!)
We had two children, a gap and then a third and I did say (repeatedly) when the youngest were 3 that I’d signed up to doing the tiredness and fatigue of the first 2 years again but had totally forgotten about dealing with the 3 year old! And that was without lockdown on top!!

I warn everyone I meet!

Goblins. Three year olds are actual goblins. I've had two, and you couldn't pay me to raise another. Belligerent little shits.

My 3 yo DS is almost 4 and starting to calm down a bit, communication from him is much better so i think this helps as he's less frustrated. But he still goes into meltdown as a default reaction to too many things.

We thought he was bad but our 18 month DD is so completely nuts I'm really fearful how she'll be. She's very strong willed, much more than her older brother