Terrible Twos
Our youngest son Leo is the poster child for terrible twos.
This child will cry for pretty much any reason. Let’s look at the reasons he had for tantrums this week.
Got something he asked for.
He was told we were going ‘Bye-Bye’ and we weren’t moving out the door fast enough.
The wrong show was on the television when he walked in.
Daddy wouldn’t let him play in the toilet.
We offered him breakfast. (Picture of that tantrum is shown above)
Mommy wanted to put pants on him.
Of course, he cries for the reasons one should cry when they are young and do not speak in full sentences yet. But those are far less frequent to the tantrums for reasons shown above, and more.
Children who are young, tend to act as if crying is the appropriate response to anything that does not please them. They have learned through their short time on this circular rock that crying normally results in them obtaining exactly what they are looking for. So, naturally, as they get older, they begin to use what they’ve learned when it comes to silly things one would not normally cry for.
I was reading an article yesterday on https://www.sciencealert.com/. The writers Rochelle Matacz & Lynn Priddis advised that, “These outbursts happen at home and out in public. Research shows tantrums occur in 87 percent of 18 to 24-month-olds, 91 percent of 30 to 36-month-olds, and 59 percent of 42 to 48-month-olds — often on a daily basis. The “terrible twos” might sound accurate but branding toddlerhood (18 months to 36 months) this way is an injustice to this group.” The article goes on to advise that children, although statistically shown to have outbursts that connect with what we term “terrible twos”, don’t always have to have these bursts of anger and frustration. They suggest that it is up to the parents of the child(ren) to understand the stage they are in at this point of their lives and make sure to focus on ways to help their child cope.
I have to agree with this a bit. I feel like my parenting style could be a bit better in some areas. I’m not perfect, I’m human. However, with statistics being what they are, I have to assume that children also have these issues because they don’t fully understand how the world works yet.
What about you? What’s your take on the Terrible Twos?
🧡Shine Bright, Kayla