DH and I are starting to wonder where on earth we have gone wrong with our DS. He is 3 next month and we have a 4 month old DS as well.
Recently, he has had massive tantrums in which we can't do anything right. He usually picks on one of us to "go away" which he screams over and over again.
He goes from being quite sweet to intolerable, frankly. The tantrums are usually over him wanting his own way over things or because things aren't done in a particular way.
In particular, I feel like he is pushing me away and prefers his father. This evening he screamed at me to go away when I went up to comfort him at bedtime. He wouldn't stop screaming at me until I did actually go away.
He is incredibly stroppy at the moment and I am dreading the teenage years if this is what it is like. We are at a loss, frankly. We all got upset this evening and sometimes I don't like him very much and I feel awful about this.
I felt very embarrassed in a shop the other day when he kept shouting that he wanted a book over and over again. I can't believe that my DS is so spoilt and I don't think we've particularly indulged him in this way.
Any ideas for ways to cope with these tantrums? Poor old DS2 is terrified by the noise and I'm sure it is upsetting for DS1 too. He seems to get out of control and can't stop the tantrum.
He is (we think) fairly bright and is very vocal. He goes to pre-school two mornings a week and it is possible that the tantrums have been worse over the summer. Other things that might be relevant is that he stopped breastfeeding 2 months ago, has recently stopped wearing nappies is becoming fiercely independent.
I'd love to have my lovely, happy DS back but I fear we are all becoming shouty and unhappy. Any ideas?