Terrible twos at One?

[ShiningStar1990]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone else's child or know of anyone's child who had the 'terrible twos' at one?

My daughter who is 14 months old is this sassy little diva, very bright but has this teenage attitude.
Everything is no, she frowns all the time, she shouts all the time, won't give cuddles or kisses anymore, if I say no to her she has started hitting me, she will try and hit people if they ask for a kiss or cuddle or go close to her mainly her Nana who she had a really close relationship with. It's like one day she woke up and wasn't this cuddly kind baby anymore. If she doesn't get what she wants she will go mad and shout and try and hit me. She has the naughty corner and has to stay there for 1 minute. Just wondering if this behaviour is normal for her age?

Also just quickly lol, when her Nana collected her from the childminders today apparently she was good as gold all afternoon then as soon as I came to pick her up she became the devil's child, shouting hitting saying no. Advice fellow people with toddlers lol.

My DD was very similar. I remember reading the book "First three years of life" that described the period between 14 and 24 months as the "age of great resistance". It was very true for my DD. Her favourite sound has always been a very loud scream. She fought everything - nappy changes, tooth brushing, getting strapped into a pram/car seat, getting changed... the list was endless. She never tried to hit anyone but her screams of protest were more than enough. DH and I were always "those parents" with "that child" who cannot be controlled. When DD was 18 months, we took her on a long haul flight. We were very well prepared with snacks, toys and iPad. DD screamed for 4 hours out of 7 because she couldn't do what she wanted. If we hadn't done our homework, she could have easily screamed for the whole time.

The "First three years of life" book suggested that if parents continued to set boundaries and remained consistent with their child, things should get better by 22 months. I was very skeptical but to my major surprise things did begin to improve. DD is almost 23 months, her vocabulary is quite good, she can often explain what she wants. She is also becoming more patient day by day. Looks like things do get better:).

Hi my son is 15 months and I am also currently going through the same thing. To my advantage I went to uni and have a degree in child development so luckily I learned about this or else I'd be lost. Basically, this type of behaviour is very normal. Our little ones are starting to realise that they can make their own decisions, that they are their own person unlike when they are babies and they see themselves and mom as one. One word is RESPECT. We must respect their needs. Kissing and hugging is a choice they can now make. That is their body, how would you like it if someone forced you to kiss someone you did t want. I know I'd be upset. Never force a child to hug or kiss anyone. Ask them " would you like to give your nan a kiss?" She will decide what she wants to do and if she says no, that's perfectly ok too. You are respecting her wishes. As far as the hitting, try not to react, children at this age thrive for reactions.. they love it! Bad or good, my son loves hair brushes and one day he whacked me on the head with it. Well I gave him a great reaction by going "ouch!! That hurt! Don't do that!" Well that was it. He did it over and over with other things. I realised I was giving him what he wanted which was the reaction! Well the next time he did it, I as casually as I could said." Gentle please. That's very rough." In a super calm voice.. and he must've thought, this ain't fun anymore and completely stopped. It's so hard trust me I get it. My son screams when he wants something (his only way of telling me what he wants since he can't speak. Even though it's not pleasant, that's his way of communicating at this age.) he cries if he wants a chocolate for breakfast and I say no. When he throws tantrums I allow him to feel upset it's very normal. Be patient as this will pass and respect her as much as you can. There's this quote I love by and it says "imagine yourself being so old one day to the point where you can't go to the bathroom, talk, or feed yourself. How you'll you like for your carer to treat you and speak to you? Personally I'd love to be spoken to with respect and treated with patience. Well this is how we must treat our children. Xx also try doing some research on positive discipline. Naughty corners have quite a bad effect on children .. it doesn't work and only hurts the child's self esteem. Speaking to our children does wonders ❤️❤️

Interesting what Winter says about 22 months. DD was, I would say, extremely difficult as a small toddler. She's quite a shy child but very strong minded and when she was very small she would basically just scream when anyone came to visit, as well as the usual brushing teeth getting dressed etc issues.

She did start to turn a corner at exactly 22 months. Although it did coincide with mummy getting more strict. I'm still not very strict and she's a sensitive child so I still believe it's best not to be too hard on her. Naughty step / shouting just ends up with us both being upset so I've given up on those methods.

She's 3.5 now and although has her moments I'm confident she will be a lovely child, where as I once thought she might be a psychopath!

My DS was a delightful baby but for the past 6 or so months (he's 2 in feb), he's been very moany and stroppy at times. Slamming the baby gate, throwing etc.

Basically I don't really like 1-2! I think it improves the more they can talk. I hope anyway...