Terrible Twos?

Oh my goodness, I feel for you. My son was horrible from ages 2-5. I think part of our issue was the inconsistency that we punished him with. He was sooooo stubborn and a 2 minute timeout sometimes lasted over an hour and a half. I got to the point when I would only try to put him in timeout when he was REALLY bad and I had a long time to try to get him to do it. If I had to go pick my daughter up from school, I was bad and let things slide more than I should. At 5 years old, he finally "got it" and he's a different kid.

I wish I had some great advice but the only thing I've been told is to be consistent!

I agree with Jackie, consistency is key. You son needs to know that if you say something you mean it. My SIL is always telling her kids that "do that again and you're losing this" but even when their behavior continues they lose nothing - they know she doesn't mean what she says so they can get away with anything. My little one is a little like that because we haven't been as consistent as we need to be. We put Trevor (our little one) in time out, first we explain to him what he did wrong and then he has to sit for 2 minutes (he's two, but sometimes it can take an hour for him it sit for the two minutes, every time he gets up we restart the time) then we talk again about what he did wrong and why he needs to change his behavior. He's doing better now that we're being more consistent.

That being said, everyone is going to have a different way to parent children. Do whatever it is that works best for you. If you feel like you're at the end of your rope, call your pediatrician for some recommendations. Good luck!
Laura

You have to be consistent and mean it too when you say you will go to your time out. I also have a designated spot for my 2 1/2 year old and it's like a switch flipped at 2 1/2 with testing boundaries, limits and her parents patience. Just stay the course and be consistent across the board, which means communicate with daddy too to make sure you are on the same page. I always count to three and if she is still acting out I say you do ____ or _____. If she keeps it up, I make the choice and she goes to time out, and I flat out tell her, I will choose for you and just follow through. For the record I am not perfect, I have let crap slide because sometimes you just don't want to deal with it. Like today with nap. She has not slept at all and is playing as I have the monitor nearby, but she is upstairs and contained just like we said would happen if she kept coming out. I know it will get better but testing limits and boundaries is all part of toddlerhood.

Hang in there mama!

Yup, consistency is key. We didn't have terrible 2's with our first son, but terrible 3's. I don't know if that was delayed being a preemie thing or what. Now, he's 6 and he tests us. He's really smart, so we just try to stay a few steps ahead. Staying calm, the hardest part, is working for all of us. Our younger son is just now starting to voice his frustration. He sounds so darn cute when he's upset, so we really have to try to keep from smiling and laughing. Testing those boundaries is all a natural part of becoming independent. You're going to be fine:)

Don't give in!!! This is a huge issue I'm having right now. I say no, daddy says yes. Or I just give in so she stops whining.

I know, I know, I am creating a brat of a child.

CONSISTENCY IS KEY!!!
DON'T DEVIATE! !!

Love and light,
Liz