OMGosh - HELP ME!!!

[dnikki0928]

I know I haven't been on, but PLEASE HELP ME!!!! My son turned 2 in December...I've heard of terrible two's but this is getting ridiculous!! He used to be soooo good. We could go out to eat or to the grocery store with no problem. No he throws fits and even throws fits when it's bath time. He used to LOVE bathtime!!! The bathtime fit is aweful. He screams when he has to get undressed, screams through the whole bath and screams while he is getting lotioned up and getting his p.j's on. What in the world is his problem???? Bedtime is beginning to turn into a nightmare and he isn't easily distracted anymore. I have no idea what to do anymore. I hate that we have a battle almost every night! If anyone has ANY suggestions, please leave them!!!!!

[AnitaRFrith]

Some thing else that worked for me was... when he starts to throw a fit get on his level and tell him " I'm going to count to three then your going to time out in your room."  If he dose not listen then take him by the hand and put him in his room then close the door.  If he comes out of the room then put him back and say " No, Time OUT".  They do that on nanny 911 too.  :-P   The last family I worked for had a 2,3, and 5 year old.  When I first started the screaming NEVER stopped.  It was horrible.  I would paint or do some thing fun with them if they did not have fits.  You can get TONS of easy arts and crafts ideas offline.  If you want to let him paint with out the mess you can.  Get a big piece of paper.  Put a tiny bit of tape on both sides of the paper... so it will not move.  Put a few drops of paint on the paper.  ( Don't put any drops close to the edge of the paper.  Only in the middle and not to much.)  After you do that put a long piece of wax paper on top of the drops.  It will flatten the drops, not smear.  Tape the paper down to the table.  Now your little can paint!  He can rub the drops on top of the wax paper and make it his own.  When he is done remove the wax paper and hang to dry.  Very clean and easy.  I used to do this with 30 two and 3 years old at one time.  You can put shaving cream on a table too.  He can draw in it.  These are things that are done in day care.  Anita

[Linzola1]

I have no idea but I am noting all these tips for when Julian gets a little older... BTW I hope it gets better for you!

[JoyRenee]

I also count to 3 like Amy suggested.

[JoyRenee]

My daughter turned 2 yesterday and this stage started before her 2nd birthday. Every little one goes through this stage at some point in their lives. The trick is to find a way to make it work for your family. What works for one person may not work for your son; he's a unique individual.

Personally I don't listen to tantrums. I completely ignore my kids when they scream and throw fits. Once they calm down enough to hear me I tell them, "I don't listen to screaming. Use your Big Girl words and tell me what is wrong/what you want." I always talk very clearly, without raising my voice (okay, almost always).

Also, validate his feelings. Tell him, "I know you're angry and don't want to take a bath! But when you're done you can pick 3 books that we'll read together. You got really dirty and we have to get the icky dirt off your body!" Did his playtime get interrupted for bathtime? Make transitions smooth. I always give warning before we switch activity, "In 2 minutes we're going to go upstairs and take a bath!" Setting a timer helps, then they know the ding means time is up! I personally don't use a timer.

He can definitely feel your frustration. I'm sure you try toys and bribes and try to make him laugh, etc. It's going to take time. Two-year-olds are finding out they are their own individual person with their own ability to CHOOSE.

So definitely give him choices too. My daughters get to pick their body wash, shampoo, even their TOWEL, and of course their PJs. Don't try to rush through bathtime, either. If he wants to run around n*aked for a few minutes, let him! If I've learned anything about this age they LOVE their freedom and having choices.

[amy0013]

Time outs have worked very well for my daughter.  The worst of her behavior was from about 22-26 months.  It was a nightmare!  Her doctor recommended a sticker chart for her but she didn't quite get it.  Whatever you decide to do, just make sure you are consistent with it so they know you mean business.  Oh, I also slowly count to three before putting her in time out.  She knows what it means and will (usually) stop the behavior before I even have to put her in time out.

Good luck!  I wanted to pull my hair out when we were in the worst of it!

[GRose]

Ugh, welcome to the club, my son turned 2 in December as well and I now refer to him as the Satan spawn lol, I don't really but he is very naughty.

[AnitaRFrith]

At at bath time try to make it fun.  Try bubbles and toys.  Tell him he can play if he dose not throw a fit.  You could even let him pick a bath toy and bubble bath from the store himself.   Call it his " big boy toy/bubbles "  or some thing like that.  BRIBES WORK!  I'm a nanny by trade and I used to teach 3 year olds.... trust me it works.  These links are just some ideas.  ( close the spaces in the links.)

http://    www.   walmart.    com/search/search-ng.    do?search_constraint=0&ic=48_0&search_query=bath+toy    &Find.x=0&Find.y=0&Find=Find

http://     www.    target.     com/gp/search/181-0356040-0397173?field-keywords=bath+toy&url=     index%3Dtarget&ref=sr_bx_1_1&x=0&y=0


And for bed time.  I always kept a TREASURE CHEST for the kids.  ( Its a container full of toys, candy, party favors, and crafts.  You can get stuff from dollar tree.)  Its a reward system.  Show the box/container to your son.  Tell him " This is the treasure chest.  If you can be a big boy and take a bath without having a fit and go to bed without a fit... you get to pick 1 thing from the treasure chest.  But if you have a fit then you will not get a prize from the treasure chest."  Once you have explained it to him ask him " How do we get treasure?'' and " What happens if you have a fit?".  If you have other children it helps if you take it down and say " TIME FOR TREASURE... Who DID NOT have a fit today?"  Give you other kids a candy or prize from the container then tell them " Good Job you didn't have a fit."  If he threw a fit that day DON'T CAVE and give it to him.  Trust me... he will not like seeing others get it and he didn't... he will stop.  Once he stops you can start doing it once a week.

I hope this helps!  Anita