Hi, if anyone can give any advice or has similar experience it would be great as I really don't know what to do -
My 2 year old has always been very strong willed, stubborn and clingy. But at the moment, it is really hard to deal with. She screams at the highest pitch possible with the loudest scream ever if she doesn't get her own way (which I don't give in to). She hits her 10 year old sister and us too and has started hitting and kicking the cats too. She is so so grumpy and often when we try to play with her (especially Dad), or talk to her, she will go really grumpy and say "don't like it". Some days that's all we hear. She is a nightmare in bed too. It often taker her 40-60 mins to go to sleep, even though we follow the same routine every night, she just doesn't like to "give up" and go to sleep. In the night, she often wakes up and refuses to settle, screaming at the top of her lungs, shouting "don't like it", rolling around, hitting and kicking. I do think that sometimes she has night terrors as it can go on for 15-20 mins with her completely uncontrollable, not responding to me comforting her at all. Other nights, she just screams because she wants to come downstairs and play and some nights she just doesn't know what she wants. Last night we resorted to putting her in our bed as she just wouldn't settle, but even then she didn't stops screaming and shouting "don't like it", turning round sideways in bed trying to lie literally on top of me and kicking her Dad and then wouldn't let me pick her up and move her. She dropped off for half an hour hear and there but then would do the same. This kind of behaviour happens quite a lot. In the day, often nothing is right for her, she doesn't like her breakfast, she doesn't like what's on TV, she doesn't like her toys, she doesn't like doing painting, she doesn't want a cuddle. She will keep saying "don't like it" to whatever you suggest. Other days she is brilliant but often, we get grumpiness, hitting and tantruming. She hates having a nap, even though she clearly needs one. when she wakes up she is in an awful mood for about an hour, just screaming, throwing herself around, rolling on the floor, hitting, kicking and saying she doesn't like it. Some days she just doesn't like anything. She often tries to literally sit all over you and can be so clingy. It doesn't help that she also has issues with having a poo - she has often been a bit "stressy" with it, but the last couple of months has started holding it in. Somedays we have her standing cross legged and screaming from 5 minutes or so, then she stops, then it comes on again and again until later in the day it just comes out (sorry for too much info!!) but she gets so upset about it. She just seems to stressy and grumpy with so many things at the moment.
If anyone has any advice, it would be greatly appreciated as I really don't know what to do.