Most of the tantrums that a 2 year old has can be dealt with quite simply:
Basically don’t give in to bad behaviour. Unwanted behaviour is often a form of attention seeking, ignore unwanted behaviour wherever possible and reward the good, wanted behaviour. A reward can be as simple as verbal praise, don’t get into the habit of giving gifts as a reward for good behaviour; children will soon use this as a way of getting more expensive presents, which will result in behaving well for the wrong reason.
I remember being at a toddler group when working as a registered child minder: I had an 8 month old baby on my lap and two older children were playing on the floor in front of me, the 2 year old boy started to misbehave as a way of getting attention, he also wanted me to put the baby down.
I managed to distract him for a moment by pointing to something out of the window, he then tried to push the baby off of my lap. A parent at the group made a comment about the boy’s behaviour, I politely explained that it was typical behaviour for a child of his age.
To keep everyone happy I managed to keep the baby on one knee and let the 2 year old sit on my other one.
Temper tantrums in a 2 year old are sometimes because they don’t have the communication skills to explain what they want and get frustrated when an adult doesn’t understand.
I looked after a girl who didn’t have this problem; she was an advanced talker for her age of rising 3, in fact she would tell me when she was going to be naughty!
I dealt with this by giving her verbal encouragement for the smallest sign of any good behaviour and then upped the anti by giving stickers as a reward . It didn’t take long for her to learn that being good got her positive results.
The terrible two’s are a normal phase of development that most, but not all children go through.
In my experience coping with the terrible two’s is a doddle compared with teenage years!
I have written on behaviour management in more detail in an earlier post.
As always questions, comments and topic suggestions are welcome and please share on social media if you think others would benefit from reading this.
Until next time.
Karen
x
I can’t remember having this problem with my three girls. However after all these years ( they are now in thier 50s) I daresay I’ve just remembered how lovely they were and still are . It was a very special time in my life and indeed a busy time. I agree the best way to deal with the problem is to ignore the behaviour as best you can.
I guess it all depends on your kids. My two year old daughter was actually quite helpful as the boys are autistic and she could do a lot more than they could. I think being a younger sibling helped her. Thanks for linking to #kcacols and hope to see you again next time.
EEK! I have a 2.5 year old and so far I feel as though i’m getting off lightly – he has his moments that’s for sure, but not as bad as I was expecting! #KCACOLS
After having three kids myself all children are so different. They do go through similair stages, but every child is so different aren’t they. #KCACOLS
Hmmm . . . I sort of remember age 3 being worse than age 2.
Some really useful points, although you’ve worried me that teenagers will be harder haha! #anythinggoes
For both our girls, two was splendid. Bliss. Three’s however, oy vey! #globalblogging xoxo
I had more problems with a threenager than a terrible two-er. I think what you say is valid in theory however it doesn’t work with every child and i guess parenting is all about trial and error, getting to know a child and finding what works for them #KCACOLS
I agree completely, by giving attention to the unwanted behaviour that’s what we will get more of! Praise works wonders in this house – especially if I praise someone else!!
I certainly can’t say I miss those days!!
The terrible twos feel a long time ago to me, but yes giving attention to the wrong behaviour is always a mistake, it will come back to haunt you in the teenage years!
Thank you for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2019/01/morning-glory.html
Loved this. I have three kids and all managed to keep me on my toes when the went through the terrible 2’s. However I have now got one who is fast approaching his teens and I now understand how easy the 2’s were! #ThatFridayLinky
My 3 year old is very strong-willed and feisty. I’m sure that she will go far in life. I’m hoping that she’s getting the teenage strips out of the way now so that when she is actually a teenager life will be easy…but I think I’m just know doing myself!! 🤣 #KCACOLS
I’m fortunate that my current two year old is a good little girl. However I have had my fair share of terrible two’s in the past. It never helps when you get unhelpful comments at groups #ablogginggoodtime
For me it was the terrible 4’s. I think it just depends on the kids. #pocolo
It is definitely an individual phase as all children are individuals, in the majority it does tend to be friends around 18 months to 2 years, thanks for sharing your experience x
I have a little girl who has just turned two and I have been anticipating this. To be honest though it really hasn’t been bad so far and I am starting to think that we won’t have the ‘terrible two’s’ experience with her. She is excellent at talking which really helps because she can communicate with us very well what she wants. At least I am keeping my fingers crossed. It is early days yet! #ablogginggoodtime
From my experience the terrible 2s start around 18 months and last until they start school! Thanks for linking up with #globalblogging
I think it’s more like 18 months until 18 years in extreme cases! x
I think the terrible two’s are largely misunderstood. And I’m with you on your last comment about them being a doddle compared to teenage, or pre-teen years! #kcacols
Good advice. It can feel overwhelming when you are in the middle of it all but it is just a developmental phase. Thank you for sharing 🌟 #POCOLO
That was easy wait till the teenage years you will wish they were 2years old again lol Thanks for linking to #Thatfridaylinky hope to see you next week
Ben’s actually not been too bad. I’m worried about when he hits the troublesome threes… they’re meant to be worse!
Thank you for sharing this with ys at #TriumphantTales. I hope to see you back tomorrow.
I have had more trouble with 3,thanI did 2. Thanks for sharing. #KCACOLS
This proves my point that the terrible twos can be anywhere between 18 months and 18 years, thank you for clarifying x
I hope you didn’t take that as me trying to offend you, or argue with you. I agree with you. All children are different and it depends on their development level too.
Not at all, why would that offend?
I love to hear about other people’s experiences and thoughts, sorry if my reply to your original comment looked that way x
No you are good! I recently had a bad experience where the blogger took my comment the wrong way. I know that it’s harder to get your meaning across sometimes on technology. Thank you for being kind!
My pleasure, as I am always kind! x
Great advice, really informative post #KCACOLS
I’m so glad the terrible twos is over for me, now though I’ve got a tween and a teen!
Thanks for linking to #pocolo