Is it normal for my almost 3 year old to act this way?

[OnMyJourney]

I’m a first time mum to a toddler and I’ve never really been around kids growing up, my almost 3 year old (she’ll be 3 in 3 weeks) is just absolute chaos, she doesn’t wanna walk where you need to go, she runs off, the minute you try to re-direct or say no she screams and cries. If we sit down anywhere to eat she just climbs, runs and is so loud. She understands me perfectly when I’m talking to her, she doesn’t have great speech she only speaks a word at a time or maybe a small phrase so I’m not sure if she’s just acting like this because it’s her way of getting her frustration out. But are other peoples toddlers like this or is it just mine? I see other people walking around town with their parents like little angels while mine is currently screaming on the floor while everyone’s judging me, I am tired 😅 I mean this age is great but it’s definitely challenging 🥹😂

Is she in Nursery yet @OnMyJourney? And how does she do on this simple progress checker?

I would also contact your HV, tell her your concerns and ask her to review your DD. It never hurts to get DD looked at by a professional and she may be able to give you some tips and reassurance.

With the speech thing the HV should also refer her for a hearing test and some SaLT, if she doesn’t I’d ask for these two referrals

I do think communication does really help. Mine were both able to hold full conversation with me by 3 which made things easier because instead of running off or acting out they would say ‘I don’t want to do that because X’ and I could say ‘well we have to do X but after that we get to go home and do these things’. Your not alone though, my son has been very popular since 3 (he’s now 6) and we’ve been invited to about 20 birthday parties a year and when you see that many of the same age together you see how broad spectrum the age can be. My daughter who is 4 has much more of a strong willed temperament but again I think her speech helps but she has her moments 😅. Are the nursery or HV helping with her speech?

@Meand2Lsyou post looks like there should be a bit more at the end. Is it my phone that’s playing up or my brain?

My eldest is three in five weeks and this isn't our experience either.
They're talking in sentences, can hold a conversation and would be safe walking down the street and wouldn't elope.

But there's definitely tantrums too 😅

Yes I think tantrums can be expected with all almost 3 year olds. They’re not renowned for being reasonable are they?

3 year olds can be a LOT 😅 I'd want someone to check her development generally though, especially her speech. Can she sit and concentrate on things that she's interested in? When I've had runners at that age, I've found a Tula pre-schooler carrier helpful for when you need to walk somewhere (I'm assuming she climbs out of the buggy?) so something like that might make your life easier, it calms them down too. HTH, that sounds like hard work. How is sleep?