Bossy 3 old

[Tenochtitlan]

My 3 yr old is trying to control me. I know this is relatively normal but how should I react. I do my best to play with him as much as possible but obviously I do occasionally have to do other things plus I have his little brother to look after. But he demands I do things with him all the time, play lollipop lady or whatever (he even tells me how I am feeling ie "no you're not tired mummy") and however much I try to reason with him, he insists and screams at me for the next ten minutes. I end up just not responding to him just because I don't know what else to do .... anyone got any suggestions?

I think this is fairly normal sadly. My almost two year old can act like this sometimes when she doesn't get her own way. As he is still little he will struggle to control his emotions. Could you try telling him you will do what you want within a certain amount of time, or offer another idea for something he could do? I'm pretty sure that you will have already tried both of those but I thought they might be worth suggesting. Otherwise try to ignore him when he is having a tantrum and reward him when he is more reasonable.

My DD is like this. Screaming match this afternoon until I went up the stairs to our front door in exactly the way she ordered. I give in until I get fed up and lose my temper, but I don't particularly recommend this approach. :) I've noticed my more assertive friends cope better by taking a good humouredly firm stance, repeating 'no' or the available option calmly and nicely and simply not backing down. Also distracting attention to a more acceptable activity.