To fear the toddler years?

[TheABC]

I am fortunate to have a lovely, sweet tempered energetic baby DS. He is just learning to crawl and already grabs everything in sight. Both myself and DH were allegedly handfuls as toddlers - should I be worried about history repeating itself? Especially since I seem to be having it easy (ish) at the moment?

Yes, the end is near

It depends what you're in fear of!

Toddlers are the best! They make up for any crap they give you by being more unbearably adorable than they have been before or will be again.

Think of a toddler cross between Wikipedia and the Duracell bunny. That's my fear...DH already has him wrestling.

:-D

Not necessarily. My DD was never a terrible toddler. She's a relatively laid back 4 yo now, so am bracing myself for her turning into a monster at some point but enjoying the easy life for now

YABU toddlers are gorgeous and amazing. The worst bit about toddlerhood is the way they insist on hurtling towards school age at ever-increasing speed. Every time they do something 'unbearably adorable' as Bitchy so rightly puts it, it makes you want to freeze time.

My dd was a very difficult horrendous toddler. I'm practically quaking in my boots at the thought of my 15mo twins being the same....

Well I hate to say it but my son was the same as a baby - very sweet-natured and smiley. Then he turned 1 and the shit started to hit the fan... almost literally on some occasions!

He is still a handful at 2 but the tantrums are slowly easing off. I found that period between about 16 months and 22 months to be the absolute worst. Just no sense of danger but always on the go, always wanting to do everything but not coordinated enough yet, so frustrated and cranky, pre-verbal apart from single words so you had no idea what was wrong half the time.

At least now he is speaking in sentences and explaining himself so even when a tantrum does kick off, you can get a sense of what he wants.

So enjoy this serene baby period, OP. You will need all your energy reserves to get through the toddler years! I wish I had enjoyed the baby bit more now, looking back. I found it boring... naive idiot that I was

I love love love the toddler stage. Yes there are tantrums and yes they can be very difficult but toddlers are so much fun and it's amazing listening to the funny things they say. Sometimes I think I am seriously going mad as they push boundaries so much but it's worth it!

My DD is 20 months and for me this is the best age so far - she's so affectionate, so interactive, learning all the time and so full of joy about everything! Of course it could go downhill any time, I suppose. I guess they are all different at the different ages and stages (as indeed we are as adults). No need to dread problems that may never happen!

YANBU!

Of course your child might be fine, I hear some are .

Toddlers are amazing. They just keep getting more interesting. They get more challenging, too, they teach you as much as you teach them.

Oh toddlers are lovely, all squidgy and still really cuddly. They are endless sources of amusement and joy. Make the most of it and enjoy every moment you can, they grow up so fast and turn into grumpy preteens before you know it

Yanbu but it's really not that bad.

And they are so funny.

We still laugh about the funny things ds used to say.

Shorts and tshirts were 'up trousers' or 'up sleeves'. He used to ask me to get in his bed by saying 'there's a spade for you here mimmy', meaning a space for you mummy.

I have a tiny Keith Moon, but I still prefer it to the baby stage.

Toddlers are fantastically amazing and will make you feel wonderful. A split second later you will be reaching for the gin and sobbing "why me!"

That's the fun of it really.

You'll be having too much fun to mind. Even tantrums can be sweet when they're not in the street.

The best tip I have is distraction works better than no. If they're angry about something, change the subject. They don't listen to rational argument but they do listen to OH MY GOD WHAT'S THIS OVER HERE? A FIRE ENGINE! WHOA!

Babies are scrummy but toddler are just so much cuter and more interesting and entertaining. Yes there's the odd mild tantrum but that pales next to everything else.

Oh yes! fear the toddler! My daughter was very sweet, well behaved. Then she got to 2 and a half and my god, she's like a different child.

Wouldn't change her for the world though. They are just so funny.

Toddlers are super. I love my 28 month old soooo much, she is funny, adorable and a wonderful little person, and her little friends are actually really fun as well.

Babies are a bit scary but toddlers are ace.

I find a two year old so much easier and more interesting than a baby. They can tell you what's wrong, you can reason with them (somewhat) and they're hilarious. Tantrums, refusal to do anything they're told and constantly running off in public are downsides but only a small part of daily life.

YANBU - don't get me wrong my DS 22mo is adorable, cute, amazing and funny but the past 6 months have been the hardest and most stressful of my life. So much so in fact that although I had a PT job I've just gone back to FT as nursery do a much better job than I do and I simply cannot cope with spending even 2 days a week alone saying 'no' 'get down' 'no you can't have another biscuit' 'no, no more cheese either' 'get down' 'stop that' 'don't jump on the cat' 'don't bang the drawer'etc. etc. I try and entertain him but he just jumps from one thing to another so it's completely boring and annoying. I do love him though :) but mainly at weekends when DH is there as well so we can spread the load!

YANBU

Fear them.