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Original poster

2 year old driving me MAD

33 replies

tryingtobemarrypoppins2 · 23/04/2010 19:44

My 2years 4months DS doesn't seem to answer questions and it drives me MAD. He repeats back what I say or talks about something else! For example:

Me - "Do you want an apple?"
DS - "Apple"

Me - "Did you have a good day?"
DS - "Digger!"

Is this normal when their speech is developing? He is a very happy, highly active, busy boy but sometimes I think

OP posts:
waitingforbedtime · 23/04/2010 19:48

Yes totally normal. He is 2.

waitingforbedtime · 23/04/2010 19:50

PS . ds is 3 now and is even more infuriating ...

me: take your feet off the table
ds: feet what feet?
me: your feet
ds: my feet? these feet?
me: yes, take them off the table.
ds: table, what table?
and so it goes on.................

Goingspare · 23/04/2010 19:50

He sounds like my husband, I'm afraid.

I think it's OK at 2 though.

Effjay · 23/04/2010 19:56

It gets worse! I had to have a 15 minute conversation with my 4 year old about a fly in the car today. About why it is not a spider, why it is not a butterfly, what colour wings it had, and on and on. Does my head in. BTW - your two year old sounds very normal. I also have a DD who is just two and we have the same type of talking as you - they learn through repetition and actually it is important that you engage with this repetition as they are practising saying the words.

JamesAndTheGiantBanana · 23/04/2010 19:57

Ds 2.8 also can't answer questions.

Me: Juice or milk?
Ds: Juice and milk!!
Me: Yeah which one do you want?
Ds: Juice!
I go to get the juice
Ds: and milk! Juice and milk!
Me: [pause] Which one do you want?
Ds: Juice and milk!
Me: You can't have both you have to choose one.
Ds: ....
Me: [eye twitching] Ds, do you want JUICE or MILK?
Ds: Yes, juice!
I pour the juice
Ds: [sadly] aaaw, milk.

strandedatsea · 23/04/2010 19:58

Exactly the same age as my dd2. If that's all you have to worry about you're very lucky all mine seems to do all day is whinge/whine/refuse to do anything I want her to do and fight with her sister.

It's a very difficult age.....

Original poster
tryingtobemarrypoppins2 · 23/04/2010 21:23

Very true! Would it be wrong to sell him on ebay??

OP posts:
drowninginclutter · 23/04/2010 21:35

I feel your pain.

This morning DS refused to put on his shoes

Me: We're not leaving the house until you put something on your feet [line up shoes, wellies and sandals] which do you want to wear shoes, boots or sandals?

DS: Sandals [attempt to put sandals on] no NO! NO! Waaah

Me: ok, shoes or boots?

DS: Boots [attempt to put boots on] waaaaaaaaah!

Me: ok we'll just stay st home then.

10 minutes later he came up to me with his shoes and asked to have them on.
I don't understand

Original poster
tryingtobemarrypoppins2 · 23/04/2010 21:46

Do you also have the responding to what you say with something totally random??

OP posts:
Horton · 23/04/2010 22:01

Oh yes, that's definitely normal. My daughter's three and I say 'Would you rather have fish or sausages for dinner, DD?' and she says 'yes, if you were very very small, you could climb into a nutshell and hide.... couldn't you?'

I just repeat myself more and more loudly in the manner of a mad person who thinks that foreigners will understand if they shout, with about as much success.

drowninginclutter · 23/04/2010 22:03

Yes to total randomness as well!

RunningOutOfIdeas · 23/04/2010 22:10

Sounds normal to me. Conversation with my DD at bedtime tonight:

DD: don't want jammies, want this (DD holds up t-shirt)
Me: OK you can wear that t-shirt in bed. I'll help you put it on.

DD: I don't like green.
Me: So why have you chosen a t-shirt with green stripes? What would you like to wear instead?

DD: No mummy I want to wear this t-shirt (the one with green stipes that started the tears).

I gave up, got her into bed and sprinted downstairs for a large glass of wine.

SantaLucia · 23/04/2010 22:35

I think they are just copying us. I find myself asking all the questions listed in these posts.

Why do we ask a 2 year old what they want for dinner or what they want to wear or whether they want milk or juice? Because we know that if we don't ask then they will reject whatever we have chosen. But then, they reject whatever they choose themselves too. Or they just don't choose. I wish I could stop myself asking my DD to choose!

If mummy doesn't know the answer why should she?

In answer to the OP - your child is totally and absolutely normal! And I'm guessing he enjoyed his day because he saw/read about/thought about a digger at some point. Can't beat a digger! So he was answering your question.

I agree that repetition is how they learn. My DD sometimes says a sentence:

"Mmmm delicious pasta"

and then says:

"You say it mummy".

When I repeat the sentence she listens very carefully and then responds:

"You say it very well mummy."

meandjoe · 24/04/2010 14:22

Mt ds is 2. and just the same. Answers questions either with another question or something completely random... often not even a real word.

Me: What shall we have for tea, fish or chicken?

DS: POMP POMP! I want pomp pomp.

Me: Right, we're having chicken

DS (WHINGING) Awww but I really wanted pomp pomp. Lets have cheese on toast!

On and on and on.

Oh and the shoes thing, what is the deal about having their damn shoes put on???!

DS: Can we go in the garden?

Me: Yes we need our shoes on then

DS: I don't want my shoes on

Me: Well we can't go in the garden with no shoes on.

DS: I don't want to go in the garden.

(5 mins later)

DS: Lets put our shoes on and go in the garden.

Arrrrrgh!!!

meep · 24/04/2010 14:38

We have pomp pomp in this house too. Today most questions were answered with "mummy bum bum".......

She is asleep now........ahhhhhhhhh!

meandjoe · 24/04/2010 17:04

Oh meep thank Goodness you have pomp pomp too! WHAT THE HELL IS IT??!! It seems to be an answer to every thing when ds isn't quite sure what he wants or sometimes when he's just giddy and excited. People look at him like he's insane sometmes... poor kid!

meep · 24/04/2010 17:31

I just got " I love you pomp pomp" !

meandjoe · 24/04/2010 18:20

Awww at least that's cute though! My ds does it just to wind me up I am sure! I try to ignoe it but pomp pomp just gets louder and louder lol. Ahhh well, could be worse I guess!

wasabipeanut · 24/04/2010 18:35

Totally normal I would say. My 2.7 year old is going through a maddening phase of answering every question as follows:

Me: Where are your crocs?
DS Somewhere

Me Would you like milk or flower juice (elderflower to anyone else)?
DS Maybe

Original poster
tryingtobemarrypoppins2 · 24/04/2010 20:57

meandjoe - good to hear from you! How are you and your LO??

OP posts:
MrsMcJnr · 24/04/2010 22:18

This made me laugh after a day when I could have cried lots of times. My DS who is 2.3yrs is maddening. So exasperating one minute (we get "pica, pica" all the time rather than "pomp, pomp") and then so sweet others: to that new monkey show on CBeebies "monkies bigger and hairier than Daddy Mummy" toddlers got to love them!

Ivykaty44 · 25/04/2010 22:27

b

AdasMum · 27/04/2010 15:18

My DD (22 months) answers ALL my questions. They all get a strict 'NO' reply
I hope this phase will stop soon ...

thumbwitch · 27/04/2010 15:25

JamesandtheGiantBanana - PMSL - almost word for word what happens here as well! DS (2.5) hasn't quite got the hang of choice yet.

Mind you, he's pretty good on food choices - ignores me until I come up with one he wants!

Haven't had pomp pomp (thank goodness) but we do get endless repetition:

Mummy, lion dinosaur - mummy, lion dinosaur - Mummy, lion, DINOsaur - (ad nauseam)

until I say "Yes, DS - the lion IS chasing the dinosaur, well done" or something - anything to acknowledge what he's saying.

It only gets tough when I can't decipher what he's saying and he keeps on and On and ON and ON until I do get it (or he gets bored)

Dalrymps · 28/04/2010 12:22

Oh god, the repetition.. Ds 2.5 has started this lately. The other day he just said the word car for over an hour and no amount of acknowledgment would make it stop. I nearly went demented. He also repeated the word tunnel to his dad for a similar amount of time which I found quite amusing as it wasn't directed at me for once .

He was building a tunnel for ds but apparently it wasn't quite right so he just kept repeating tunnel no matter what type of tunnel dh made