In our house right now my husband, 5 year old and myself are all in survival mode. We have a sleeping dragon that we tiptoe around day and night. When that dragon awakens, watch out. Whatever is in its path gets thrown and humans get hit or bitten. That dragon is our very own two year old, Theo. At age 2 he knows what he wants and he doesn't want to hear the word "no". Does this sound familiar?
Although Theo is our second, we (and yes I do speak for my husband here) struggle daily with his tantrums and what seems like extreme rage. Andreas, our first, went through what we thought were the "terrible three's" at the time, not so. I suppose to our gentle and easygoing child, this was acting out and to his first time parents we were shocked that our sweet boy would behave in such a way, but seriously, it was nothing compared to what we are experiencing now.
Let me indulge you in some of this week's fun. On Saturday, as we were leaving a restaurant, Theo broke out into a sprint towards a very busy road. When I realized he wasn't stopping I dropped everything and managed to catch him just as he was stepping out into the street. I grabbed him and turned with such a force that I didn't notice a tree well and so twisted both ankles and fell, scraping my knee. Then on Monday he was having some major problems opening his banana, it was squishing out the sides and he was making a huge mess, so I eventually took it from him and opened it. This made him so angry that he squeezed it and threw mushy banana at the wall. Just yesterday I caught him peeing into a bath toy in the tub and then 5 minutes later he drank that same bath water.
As you're reading this, I'm sure some of you are shaking your head in understanding and others in judgement. Trust me, after our first I was the latter, blaming it on the parents, but OMG, some kids are just runners and very strong willed!
Everyday we set boundaries for Theo that need to be followed. This always ends in him screaming and throwing something, but eventually he comes around and we are able to change his diaper, get him dressed or have him finish his dinner. We also try to foster his independence by offering him choices, red hat or hockey hat, oatmeal or cereal, this book or that (don't even get me started on bedtime).
Theo turned two at the end of September, so I know we have a ways to go. My husband and I are just crossing our fingers that things will eventually get better. Then I remind him of what may happen when he's a teenager, we sigh and file that thought away for many more years to come. ❤️