No, No, No - Living With A Two Year Old
If your child is approaching the age of two, your life is about
to change dramatically. I know, your life already has changed
dramatically, but you're about to enter a whole new level of,
well, frustration and despair. Luckily, the difficulties only
last for about two years...........sigh. Well, to help you out,
let me give you some tips about living with your two year old.
First - you need to understand that toddlers have no impulse
control. This is a critical piece of information, and you will
need to chant it to yourself several times a day. Even when a
toddler knows what she's doing is wrong, and knows she's going
to get into trouble for it, she can't help it. She just has to
do it. So, don't think your child is incapable of being trained
when she gets into the toilet paper for the tenth time today.
The best advice is just put the stuff away. And, don't punish
her too harshly. At this age, making punishment harsher for
subsequent offenses isn't helpful. The same time out routine
each time will have more effect, though you must understand me
when I say this - nothing except growing older will have much
effect on a two year old.
Secondly, if you live with a two year old, don't try to do
anything in a hurry. Gone, at least for a while, are the days
when you can "run to the grocery store". At this age everything
takes a long time, and you should just get used to it. Trying to
hurry them along only creates frustration for both of you. Let
them try to get in and out of the car themselves. Let them pick
exactly which grocery cart you'll use. It's good for their
development and it helps keep peace.
Thirdly, pick your battles. Don't allow anything that's unsafe,
but don't try to control how and when everything gets done. If
she wants to wear the purple plaid pants with the yellow striped
top, some days you just need to let her do it. One way to
minimize the battles is to give your child some choices up
front, but not too many. For instance, pick out two appropriate
outfits for the day, and then let her choose between them.
Finally, enjoy this age. As difficult as two year olds can be
(oh, and three year olds can be just as bad), they are also
simply magical to watch. They learn something new every day.
They're excited and amazed by the simplest things, like blowing
bubbles and getting a sticker. They're a wonderful combination
of baby and child, and they'll never be this age again. Thank
God.