Tuesday 18 September 2012

more toddler shenanigans...

Another of those days again today. Three words... poo. on. wall. No further comment.

I found these photos on my old camera disk. Arlo was perhaps a week old. 
Look at them both. Naw, so cute. Butter wouldn't melt in their mouths. 
Well it mightn't melt in Arlo's... but Huckle on the other hand is turning into a very intense little person.
Short of pulling my hair out or banging my head against the wall, I'm doing a lot of research into toddler behaviour. Hopefully something will click and things will start to level out again. Hopefully soon...



3 comments:

Susan said...

oh dear - I think I jinxed you with my comment on your other post that 'at least it wasn't poo'!! We went through a similar phase with Minty, constantly getting up to mischief - poo painting, running away and generally pushing every possible boundary. It was exhausting but thankfully now that she's 4 1/2 she's mostly grown out of it. She's still adventurous, independent and 'creative' (if you know what I mean!) but for the most part it's channeled into much more acceptable avenues. I'm sure Huckle will out grow it all too without too many drastic parenting changes on your part - just hope there aren't too many poo events in the mean time!! We did end up having to drop her nap at that point though because she would always use that opportunity to get up to crazy antics! good luck!

Christina Lowry said...

Oh Kitty! Sorry about the poo! I jinxed you too!

Those toddler days. Testing their boundaries, asserting their independence, driving you crazy. They do grow out of them, well pretty much anyway. Cohen is much easier to live with now, even if he doesn't always listen... :)

But they can be intense for sure. I read a lot too and learnt to get down to Cohen's level to talk to him and to help him with his big feelings - saying things like "I think you are feeling frustrated right now and that's ok. Mama feels frustrated sometimes too. Maybe a cuddle would help?" I got him outside a lot and had play dates. I encouraged him to help wash the dishes or sort the clothes, so he felt involved in the running of the house and get a bit of satisfaction out of it too. Other people's expectations were the most difficult to deal with. How quickly other mothers forget!

The best advice I got was 'trust you instincts' and 'there is only love.' That helped when I was frustrated and angry at him, to remember how much I love him. Also, there is no use arguing with a toddler.

Hopefully something above will help. But know that you are not alone. Don't forget to ask for help and lower your expectations for awhile. xx

Unknown said...

Kitty well done to you for some regular posts, that is always good for mama's mental health.
I rang the M&CH Nurse recently to ask about Hazel's crazy antics, esp at bedtime, when she found out that Hazel is 2 &1/2 she said, 'well that's the problem, kids at that age are wanting independence and can't quite get there on their own, and are irrational and ridiculous and frustrating'.
Well I might have added those last two adjectives myself, but she basically said that toddlers of this age are crazy by definition. I know that might not give you much comfort, but it kind of made me relax a bit and just surrender to the contrary antics.
The above comment suggests some things I would agree with, re household helping, getting out of the house etc, but I'm not doing those things with another little one like you.
This too shall pass!