Struggling with 2YO behaviour

[OhForTheLoveOfGin]

DD has recently turned two and has ramped up the dial on the tantrums/whinging. She is usually an absolute delight but her behaviour over the past month or so is really starting to get me down. Today has been a nightmare of constant whinging, tantrums and bad behaviour. I think we're good at reinforcing boundaries, picking our battles and being consistent in expectations (eg, if she refuses to eat her tea I've no problem sending her to bed with no tea, she's never offered a second choice). However, I'm really struggling with all of this. I'm usually quite calm and cheery in the face of a tantrum, will just ignore, make sure she's safe etc. But today I could happily scream into a barrel of gin.

We use 123 to limited success, and I've not going the naughty step particularly helpful. Time out in bed for REALLY bad behaviour does seem helpful though...

Any tips on how to get through this phase? Or behaviour books you've found useful?

Anyone??

Just go on and scream into that bottle of gin.

They will grow out of it. My DD is 2.9 and is exactly the same as was my DS when he was 2-3. Just stick to your rules and don't take it personally. They are developing. It's all part of the process. You sound like you're doing fine. It's okay to find it hard sometimes. That's what the gin is there for

The only thing I wouldn't do is send mine to bed without food. That would just make my two worse as they are grumpy when they're hungry. DS isn't like that anymore as he's 6 and is a good eater, but if DD refuses her tea or gets fussy, I'll just take it away and give her some toast. I don't make an issue of it as I don't want to make a battle over food.

IMO, a good idea is to give them a constructive toy to play with. I tried this today with my one year old:

Oops, maybe not!

Seriously though, our oldest often had sporadic bursts of anger (not always LEGO related) in his late 2s/early 3s - the naughty step worked for a while. Later when he got a lot more combative we found that ignoring it worked best for us and he since grew out of it. The advice we got from childminders at the time was that it is really common, and often passes after a few tough weeks.

Good luck!

(Note from the video - please always supervise small children).

I've found the Janet Lansbury website and Facebook page fantastic for advice on toddler negotiations.