These are words that are often, some daily in fact, used to describe him. He is 2.1 yrs.
A "handful"
"cheeky"
"destructive"
"devious"
"persistent"
"strong-willed"
"determined"
"naughty"
"charming"
"exhausting"
"clever"
"crafty"
"dextrous"
"bright"
"difficult"
Now, he's called a few other things too...(handsome, loving, funny, etc, but I dont think they are necessarily pertinent).
Now, I get that he is 2, and we all know that 2 year olds are challenging
However, this particular 2 year old has got me to the end of my tether yet again today because of the battles we have to get him dressed, and notably - changing his nappy.
This has been a fight with him literally since he has been able to kick his legs about and wave his arms.
Dinner times - more stress - sometimes he'll eat, sometimes not - i'm not worried about this - its the making an absolute mess with his food that stresess me. Mess is a huge factor here actually - we had to gaffer tape his nappy on a couple of months ago to stop him pulling it off and throwing poo everywhere and eating it.
You cannot turn your back on him for a second - he climbs everything (and has been doing so for the last year). He is constantly trying to open things, undo things, pull things apart, and also put things 'in' something. He rarely stops "doing" something - he cant sit still long enough to read a toddler book, or play a game or sing a nursery rhyme (although he will sit for protracted periods to watch CBeebies .....). He has learned to "dummy" adults (He'll make a loud crashing mess in one corner to distract the adult and get them to deal with the noise/mess, thus moving them away from his intended target and keeping them occupied ).
Getting him into his car seat - another battle. Sometimes he'll climb into it (although this is rare). He fights being 'put' in it. He insists on trying to do it up himself (cept he cant do it himself), every single journey involves him getting his arms out the straps and doing things he shouldnt. I cannot fix this problem (he can also work his way out of a 5 point harness hence prams and reins no real restraint when out shopping).
Speaking of which - he often and regularly will just run off - just turn in one direction and run and run barely looking back - except to laugh.
I'm shattered. And I really feel like I am doing things 'wrong' which has caused all these things to become a 'battle' each and every time. The thing is, on rare occasions, he'll just do whatever it is that is required - changing nappy, eating dinner nicely, getting in car seat nicely etc. It seems that he is a fast learner, energetic and fairly bright i suppose. I dont want to turn all these traits that are emminently positive, into negatives, simply because I cant 'handle' him.
Tell me what I am doing wrong - but more importantly - tell me what i should be doing.
I'm totally thrown - DD just wasnt like this at all.