Do you always keep your cool in the mornings?

[winnybella]

Because I have just failed . DD refused to get dressed, screamed, whined and was generally uncooperative. I'm afraid that I got hold of her and forcefully put the top on her, which she managed to take off 3 seconds later and lay down on the bed in just her nappy, screaming. I told her that she'll be going to the nursery like that if she doesn't get dressed and she did, eventually.

But she told me off for grabbing her arms. I was a bit rough , but that's because she kept on trying to get away, take the top off and hitting me. Arrgh.

Tell me I'm not the only one.

You are not the only one I promise! I sit my toddler on my lap if she won't get dressed and say we areq going to sit here until you stop moving and get dressed. Sometimes works lol. They can be so frustrating when you need to be somwhere can't they?

I don't think it would work with her, she can be so stubborn. DP calls her 'bossy boots' and she says 'NO, I'm bossy shoes'

What really perplexes me sometimes is the whole Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide thing she has going on- lovely one moment and screaming banshee the next.

I hate losing my patience with her, it happens rarely but then I feel so guilty.

How old? DS is 2 and I find getting dressed can become a battle ground so try not to get wound up about it before we start. We talk about getting dressed, oo and aah over the clothes and do it in stages. May mean coming back to it in a few minutes etc.

Winnybella - I wish I had read this before posting my epic. I have had a hideous morning when I COMPLETLEY lost my cool.

I cannot fathom the emotional meltdown either - I know that he gets frustrated when things are not going his way but he certainly understands when I talk to him about consequences of being naughty - smacking etc but he nods and says sorry and then lashes out with his foot again!

She's 2.10 and I thought we were already past the tantrum phase because she had a few months when she was being mostly reasonable. Now it seems that they are back with force. Normally I deal with it by either ignoring or pointing her attention to something else but sometimes she is so horrible that I just see red (and it doesn't help when you need to leave the house in 5 minutes or are cooking dinner so have pans with boiling water on the hob and she seems intent on putting her stool right next to the hob so she can see what mummy is doing,and then goes into hysterics when I tell her to put her stool to the side as it's dangerous etc etc and tries to push her way to the hob, ARRRGH, that's the thing: she doesn't give up)

Sorry you had a bad morning, Jo. I'll have a look for your thread.