terrible two's

[ORANGE76]

Hi guys,

Just wanted a bit of advice, my two year old's tantrums have got worse. Trying to brush his teeth, comb his hair or even a change of clothes can cause havoc. He hides behind the bed and then kicks and cries. Recently, he has started to bang his head on the floor in anger. He does not say many words and maybe the fact that I've had to shout at him a few times has not helped matters.

Please help as it can take an hour to get out of the house sometimes!!!

Desperate

Orange76.

Orange i feel your pain really i do. With DS also just two, i usually give him some choice....shall we do your teeth first or brush your hair....would you like to wear this t-shirt or this jumper etc. It helps he feel in control.

Headbanging - i move him to safeplace (rug) and ignore. He has stopped doing it now.

Hiding under bed...i would walk off into muy room and wait for him to get bored and come and find me. (not always pratical if in a rush though, in these cases i have been known to drag encourage him out!

He may well be very frustrated as not able to express himself fully yet, once he starts to use more words I bet it will get a bit easier.

Thanks dribbleface!

Don't bet on the words helping. It just means they have more ways to defy you :o

DD is 2.5 and well able to express her unwillingness to have her hair/teeth brushed, face washed, shoes put on.

The choices thing works well. So does talking about what you're going to do next while just doing the brushing/washing.

Most nights I tell DD1 what will be happening in the morning, so she knows what to expect. Then as we go through all the morning jobs she knows what they're leading to - e.g. now we'll have to put on our coats, because it's cold outside and we need to go to

Also, true about ignoring really big tantrums. I tend to just sit there with her and ask her if she's finished yet, and if she needs a hug. Once the answer is yes she has a cuddle and seems to feel better.

You know what really doesn't work? Losing your rag, letting them know you really want them to hurry up, shouting, pleading, basically anything that shows your weakness. Take it from a crap mother, keeping your cool really helps.

My dd is also going through terrible 2's so thanks , I'm gonna take some these tips on board before I end up bald from pulling my hair out.X