Terrible twos

[user1463007194]

Hello

I have a two year old (three end of October). He's always had a ridiculous amount of energy & been very active. Walking early etc very inquisitive & independent.

His level of naughtiness & tantrums has become unbearable & I am trying to establish if his behaviour is normal. To give a few examples - I'll pop to the toilet for 5 minutes and he would have carried a whole box of eggs over to the cooker, cracked 4 of them in a bowl, I'll come up and he will ask me how I like my eggs do I want pepper 😂
He constantly wants to be at the sink playing with cups and water, causing so much mess, he throws pans off the draining board, has a meltdown when I get him dressed, is just very very energetic, wants to help me with everything . I t feels like others children will just sit and play and mine what's constant entertaining. I'm a single mum and he's any only child. Any opinions would be very welcome.!

Very, very few dc will just sit nicely at 2/3, mine certainly needed plenty of attention and supervision at that age. I would keep eggs out of reach and be cross if one of mine had gone into the fridge and made a mess (very, very cross if they went near the cooker). If he throws pans off the draining board I would instantly put him onto the floor and that would be the end of playing at the sink. For getting dressed I would give him a choice about what he wears, so 'which t shirts do you want to wear?' or 'do you want your blue or red shorts?'.

That sounds totally normal to me. I have two children aged 3.5 and 1.5. They have very different characters but would both do things like this at some point. Very few children this age actually sit still but it sometimes does seem like it! I could never take my children to rhyme time at the library because they would run off and I would think it was just my children not sitting and listening. But I think we just are hyper aware of our own children and it seems like other children are very inactive and well behaved.

Thank you both for your replies, I feel reassured ! ( he went in the fridge & took the eggs by dragging a chair over 🙈)

I agree it sounds like the behaviour of a bright, inquisitive, energetic toddler. Mine wouldn’t play alone at that age and nearly 4 year old DGD will entertain herself for short periods while DD settles the baby for a nap. But it’s only a few months since she’s started doing this and she can only do it for 10 minutes or so. Some children are very placid and self contained but I think they’re in the minority.

Thank you very much for your response, great to know!