To think 2 year olds should do as they're told?

[SleepingStandingUp]

And that if they don't it's a reflection on lax parenting? I'm taking not climbing and sitting in high sides, not going upstairs when told not to / coming down when told to, sitting at the table to eat, not pushing each other?

AIBU to expect that we'll raised two year olds can do all this and the fact mine don't is because I'm doing something wrong and therefore to ask how to make them behave??

@NeverDropYourMooncup my 2yo is at least 60% puppy: obsessed with sticks and puddles, very food motivated, runs wild in any open space, resisting house training

DS is 2 1/2 and the only way to stop him doing something is to physically stop him. He has VERY selective hearing!!
DD is also 2.5 and sometimes I wonder if she actually knows her name because she does NOT respond to it unless you tag “…there’s cake” on the end.

An older 2 is really a lovely age and you can see their personality coming out more and more.
Yeah and that personality is defiant, stroppy and gittish

This thread better be a joke. I'm ill with Covid and my 2 year old, who's also got it but you'd never bloody know, is off the fucking walls.

I've tried timeouts/naughty step. She has turned it on me, and now flounces off there mid tantrum announcing "I going the naughty step. You not come with me cos I cross with you."

Great! When you found that magic potion
to turn terrible 2's into obedient 2's and ever after, let us know!
In the meantime stick with 🍷/ 🍫/ /🍦 once they are in bed!!!!

The "naughty step" is your best friend. Some days when dd was 2 I thought we'd wear it out! It works and she's a fine, polite individual now.

Nah, they don't really start doing what they're told til they're over 3 IMO. And then it's hit and miss. Ds1 was a terrible two he's now a mainly well behaved 5yo that tends to do what I ask unless he's over excited.

Do you want a stiff drink and we'll tell you about teenagers?
This^

By the way judging from your posts your toddlers have good motor skills and love exploring. It’s great!

YABVVVU

by the kitchen bin, eating left over tortilla chips we’d thrown away the night before

I wouldn't expect them to do most of what you suggest without quite a lot of input and repetitive training

at which point he rolled in a muddy puddle

He has VERY selective hearing

These people aren't talking about Beagles although they could be, having had one of the buggers . But seriously, I meant it when I likened them to puppies and dogs.

Treats, positive reinforcement more treats and distraction. That's the way to do it.

I won't mention the day that the MIL realised DD was clicker trained from being around the Dog all her life. Or the one when she was titting around and I bellowed SIT after the third request to stop and her arse hit the ground at the same time as said Dog's did.

😂😂😂😂😂 Good one!

Two year old twins are arseholes. Three year old twins are even worse.

Practice your ‘do not mess with me, I’m not in the mood’ face now. Not for using on your twins obviously they won’t give a shit about your opinion or rules but for all the judgemental folk watching on.

Good luck, from one twin mama to another. Apparently they get much better at 4.

@DeepaBeesKit Mine fucking LOVES playing naughty step. “You be the teacher and tell me off, I do a naughty thing! Great, now your turn.”

@esloquehay

My twin girls (nearly 4) were bloody hard work at that age. I'm a solo parent and it was a bloody nightmare. But 'punishments'?! They're bloody 2. Maybe you need to lower your expectations and those that society shove down our throats and cut them AND yourself some slack. At this age, it is SO healthy and appropriate to be pushing boundaries. I'm hoping your post is in jest...😯🤯

Jest, desperation, take your pick...

I don't mean punishments as in beating with a yard broom but like time out (omg even the thought of trying it is funny), removing the toy they're causing holy war over (so they scream MORE hysterically) etc.

No punishment needed, they're so little they're just interested in everything and need repetition to learn. This means having eyes everywhere and 'not for playing with' on permanent repeat while distracting them with something they are allowed to play with. They do get it eventually though, you might be drowning your sorrows in gin everyday by then, but it will come I promise.

@DeepaBeesKit

This thread better be a joke. I'm ill with Covid and my 2 year old, who's also got it but you'd never bloody know, is off the fucking walls.

I've tried timeouts/naughty step. She has turned it on me, and now flounces off there mid tantrum announcing "I going the naughty step. You not come with me cos I cross with you."

All I can see from that is what lovely speech she has. When was she two? I wish mine talked, in English instead of twin babble. And enjoy her timing herself out l, hide with cake once you're better.

Joke in what way though? They're very real. And I'd really like them to behave. Or take themselves to vthe naughty step

I remember my pair emptying out several bags of flour over the kitchen floor and eating it one afternoon as two year olds.
They learn to work together to cause havoc.

Now they are stroppy teens, like have toddlers all over again!

LOL. The USP of a two year old is that they overcome mighty barriers in their determination to succeed!

This applies equally to learning to say words, grapple with falling over and getting up again, and encountering recalcitrant adults in their path trying to stop them DOING STUFF!

If they were programmed to give up and stop at the first ‘no’, they wouldn’t have the determination to meet their more socially acceptable milestones.

I love 2 year olds.

Don’t even think of punishment. Praise like mad when they get it right, distract and deflect when they are hell bent on chaos, and use your might to pick them up and remove them if true catastrophe looms.

@Yerroblemom1923

The "naughty step" is your best friend. Some days when dd was 2 I thought we'd wear it out! It works and she's a fine, polite individual now.

There'd no was in this earth they would sit on a step for two minutes. They love the stairs because it leads to the best places (outside, big borthers room, bathroom) and whilst I'm spending twenty minutes getting them to sit for two, their twin would have found a chandelier to swing off

I have a type of 2 year-old who is going to be trouble for a very very long time. I know every time I pick him up from school in the future, I'm going to do the walk of shame in-front of other parents when the teacher complains about his shenanigans. Nothing to do with my parenting whatsoever. The boy was born to push boundaries. I have a theory, it's genetics and personality. His father was like this and lived with the most strictest parents on earth and it still didn't make a difference. Mil tells me that DH shaved his brothers eyebrows when he was 3 😂 broke tvs, windows and mil's glasses by throwing a fire truck toy at her face leaving it all bloody.

Good for those parents who have quiet, compliant and well behaved toddlers but it's the personality of your toddler rather than your parenting skills.

Is this a fucking joke?

2 year olds are evil.

The only 2-year-old I've ever met who was 'well-behaved' had a mother who literally never let up on the poor little mite, he was told off every 30 seconds. Apparently his father started hitting him on the hand aged 6 months when he went through the (perfectly normal) screeching stage - they say that's normal in South Africa. I very much doubt it.

@greenlynx

Do you want a stiff drink and we'll tell you about teenagers? This^

By the way judging from your posts your toddlers have good motor skills and love exploring. It’s great!

Yes gross motor and problem solving (where it pertains to climbing or food) is excellent and it's really brought on their collaborative working when they realised one can't open the toy cupboard but two can...

Don't bother with any of that naughty step rubbish. Natural, immediate consequences at this age (and older). Fighting over a toy then tell them clearly if they don't stop fighting you'll take it away and follow through.
With the climbing about etc at this age I'd just strap into high chairs if you need them to sit and eat, or lift them down and immediately distract with something more fun.

Love this thread OP, it’s a real test of who reads past the first paragraph. Two year olds are the devil incarnate. And you’ve got 2 of them. Oh dear. There’s no hope for you. Start your Christmas drinking now!

@NoPointInWednesdays

😂😂😂 brilliant!!

That was my first thought, hilarious 🤣🤣. Have you met many 2 year Olds OP? One of mine was delightful at 2 and rule abiding the other 2, not so much.