Dear Ms. Manners,
Yikes, it's been a long year!
We hit the "terrible twos" nearly a year ago now, and I can't tell you how happy I'll be to wave bye-bye to it. What exactly do parents have to blame their child(ren)'s poor behavior on once this year has past, though? Yeesh.
I exaggerate - slightly. Avery isn't really the demon child I claim him to be each week. He has his moments (trust me) but he can also be a perfectly lovely kid, too. And lately...during the last few months, I would say, things had gotten considerably better. But over the last two weeks, I think we've taken a turn for the worst.
I've told you I'm doing some part-time child care out of our home, and it has been going quite well. There's one exception, though: Avery doesn't know how to share, refuses to learn, and has quite a vile temper when he doesn't get his way. I know, I know...this is typical of a two-year-old. But when he crosses the line and starts trying to cause physical harm (pulling fingers {No, not in the funny way our dads had us pull their fingers when we were children, with a toot following closely behind}, shoving, and slapping at his hands) to the child I care for, it makes the situation much more complex. It is so frustrating! We try time-outs...sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. We occasionally watch "Super Nanny," and understand that it takes parents who are in agreement with disciplinary actions and staying consistent for children to get the message and correct their behavior, but for some reason, success in this area has dodged us thus far.
I know, given more time, this problem should improve greatly. I just wish there was a surefire way to speed things along. Any advice? Or shall I submit my application to the SuperNanny immediately?
Sincerely,
M. Weatherby
4 comments:
I don't know, man....the threes were much harder for us (and my friend Tenessa, who is very smart and has two sons, agreed they were harder for her, too). I would recommend the book the Happiest Toddler on the Block: it helped me quite a bit. Shaun liked the book "No," with a subtitle like "Why your kids need to hear it more", and has brought me on board with many of the processes recommended in that book. You could borrow both or either of those from us, if you wanna. I found just reading about others who have that same struggle was really helpful.
It does pass. Other things will get harder, but the tantrums do get easier. Or at least different.
Let me know if you wanna borrow our books.
Ooh! I would love to borrow the books. Just let me know how/when/where you'd like to pass them off.
I've heard the same thing you just stated: threes are tougher than twos. And as much as it disappointments me, I really didn't have much hope for his attitude to magically change on his third birthday.
Fortunately, the last couple days have given me hope for his behavioral future ;) More to come on that in a blog post. For now, I'm just determined to ride high on our small successes.
*disappoints* -- Jeesh.
It totally disappointments me that I didn't notice your error. It's kinda funny.
I'll scrounge up the books and we can figure out a handoff time. Send me an e-mail if you get a chance, at johnsonnumber9 @ yahoo....without the spaces. Or my work email. Maybe we can go somewhere and have pie, and V can teach Avery new tricks.
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