MOMMY Or DADDY!

In my experience this is very normal. My advice to you is to try not to ALWAYS give in to the temper tantrums. You don't want him to learn that that is an effective way of getting what he wants. On the other hand, by all means, if he wants Mommy, give him Mommy. If he wants daddy, give him daddy. Of course, only if you/he are available. If you aren't doing anything really important,show him that he is important enough to stop and make time for. They are only little for a short time and one day before you know it, he won't want mommy OR daddy do do anything for him. Enjoy this time with him now!

Also, I wouldn't be too concerned about how he will act when your husband is at work all day. Kids tend to do that kind of thing more when BOTH parents are around. In the evenings, my son will be choosing about who he wants for what but during the day he knows he just has mommy and is fine with that :-)

J.,
Part of a child's development is testing to see how much of their world they can control (especially at the tender age of 2). I know that the easy way to deal with the situation is to give in. I assure you this behavior will get worse. You have to be firm and loving. Validate his feelings and say something like "Oh I know you want to have daddy do this, but right now it is my turn". Most of the time a little validation goes a long way. Everyone in conflict always wants to know that the other side understands their frustration.

This time you have with him is precious, but remember you have to be his parent not his friend. The early lessons you teach him now will carry over for the rest of his life.

Best of luck to you!

ALL toddlers go through this. Once Daddy isn't there he'll probably have less fits for daddy, but once daddy comes home they'll start and maybe be worse, at least when you husband first goes back to work. If your son is awake when Daddy leaves for work it can be quite bad. We have a little routine that works for us (most of the time), he helps pour coffee in Daddy's travel mug from his coffee pot (part of his little tykes kitchen set). Then I put the coffee in from my pot and close the container, (it has a screw on lid and then another cover) then he carries it to Daddy and waves bye and blows kisses from the door. This routine excites him because he's helping and Daddy gets very excited when he brings the coffee to him. Hope this helps. We only let him carry the coffee because the container is sealed and can't spill.

Hi J.,

My son went through this a bit. If you feel this may become a problem, the best way to deal with it is to continue going about business as usual--if daddy is changing the diaper, then daddy continues with it, etc.

He's trying to assert his independence, which is awesome! But he's also learning which actions will get certain results, so make sure the actions you respond positively to are the actions you want him to continue.

My son LOVES the weekends when daddy is home all day and first thing Monday morning, when daddy is back to work, I have a grumpy little boy who wants daddy, not mama. I just explain to him that daddy will be home after work and right now he gets to play with me. Does he always like that answer? Um, no, but that's the situation at that moment, so I just go with it. Sometimes he cries but usually he just mopes a bit until something else catches his attention.

Hang in there, girl! I hear the 3's are worse than the 2's! : )

D.

I think that all children go though that stage. It happened to my daughter when she was around 2 and now she has grown out of it a bit. About 2 months ago my daughter asked for the first time to spend the night over some one elses house for the first time that has been a blessing. don't worry I was a stay at home mom and then went back to work. What I would tell you to do is don't stop what you are doing that is just spoiling him and he will keep up the tantrum because he knows that you will do what he want if he throws a fight. He has to learn that you will a that you or daddy will be back and then will do what he wants.