Yesterday I sat in the doctor's office during Addilece's appointment reading the development sheet that I get at each appointment. This is what I read: "Behavior. Watch out! You are nearing the 'terrible twos.'" Suddenly a light bulb went off and I just had to laugh. "So that's why she acted like the world was ending because I took her away from the book she was reading to come back here." Don't get me wrong. I know what the "terrible twos" are and I've been watching them. I just thought we were having "moods" lately.
Awww...the terrible twos. So far the last week or so has been filled with a child who acts rather deaf, uses her body to control her way, and temper tantrums at every turn. It is taking a whole new set of discipline to deal with it. So here is what we are doing so far:
1. Time Outs: They are Addilece's BEST form of discipline. However, they are now coming with an added twist and defiance. Instead of sitting on the time out mat for 2 minutes we are standing beside it, rolling off it, sitting on mom's lap, getting toys, and so on and so forth. Super Nanny would be proud b/c if any of these things take place that timer gets reset. Let me tell you, it is emotionally and physically draining.
2. Calm Down Time: Thanks to this blog post on I Can Teach My Child! that I had read months before I had something in my back pocket. Tony and I were both a bit skeptical this would even work but we gave it a try. After doing it twice we were sold. What we do is as soon as the temper tantrum begins (minus during time outs and bed time-b/c we've already seen her try and manipulate that) we say, "do we need to calm down?" Then we take Sweet Pea to the rocking chair and tell her she needs to sit there until she is calm. Shes not in trouble and she controls how long she sits. When she gets up we ask her if she is calm and if she says yes we go on with life. She is much more reasonable after that. It is working wonders. Best of all we can implement this in public also, if we need to.
3. Time Warnings: I'm quickly discovering how badly I need to give time warnings at this age, when possible. Yesterday, we were grocery shopping and Sweet Pea didn't want to get out of the car on the front. So, I told her, "we are going to push the cart to the cart rack and then you have to get out." It worked like a charm, no fits. I am really going to have retrain myself to make sure I do this before I give instructions and allow myself the time to do it.
However, even with this I get really really worn down. A little after a week of seeing this behavior pop up I am ready for a mom vacation. Goodness.
BUT there is a flip side to this. My little girl is learning and discovering and changing. She has taken in so much information with in the last week. She can tell you her Daddy "is stonggg (strong)" and where her top and bottom are and how old she is. She learned hide-n-seek (although she's not so good at it b/c she always wants to hide in the tub) and is repeating almost every word we throw at her. She is soaking it all up very quickly. The next sentence on that development sheet was "Remember that this phase will pass with it's pleasures and it's pains." I'm desperately hoping that I can hold on to those moments of pleasure, my patience, and most importantly God as I wade through this new stage in our lives.
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