Out of Control 2 Year Old! Help!

My oldest son had behavioral issues like this when he was 3. They say "Terrible 2" but for me 3 was way worse!! It was a very hard time for me as a parent because I felt like all I did was holler at him and discipline him and did not get to have fun with him. It took him about a year to start behaving much better and I can tell you that Consistency with them is the key. Yes it is hard and yes you feel awful some days, but if you are consistent it will pay off. My son is now 5 and he still has moments here and there, but for the most part he is a really good kid and I get compliments all the time on how well behaved he is.

I don't know if you'll like this site, but I have found the Pearls to be very helpful if you take their teaching as a whole (if you just read one article it will seem extreme, and until you hear what they really mean by it you may want to discount it, as I did at first)...so just thought I'd pass along the link and see if it helps you!

http://www.nogreaterjoy.org

Blessings, Lynn

ok.. we went through this with my nephew.
it really takes a lot of nerves to do this but it works wonders quickly.
TOTALLY IGNORE THE BEHAVIOR
.. she hits: dont say a word to her, just take her away from who she hit and move her on to something else.
.. she throws things: leave them on the floor and act like it doesnt even bother you that its done.
.. she throws a fit : lay down on the floor and just lay there. she will be so shocked that she wont know what to do.

whatever you do.. DO NOT YELL at her

now.. on the other side of this you got to really reward good behavior.and make sure to really reasure her that you love her, that youre always there, that you wont ever leave.. and that shes a good girl.

try making a small reward chart. if shes good that day, give her a star on the chart, if shes bad.. she doesnt get one.
when she gets so many, she gets something nice.
like an hour of uninterupted play with a parent;}
she may yet be too small for the chart thing, but it works;}

stay strong.. this phase does pass..
i grew up with a kid that was the worst behaved meanest brat youve ever seen... and hes in his last year of med school and the nicest man in the world. so.. she will grow out of it.. you just might need a wig before its all over.. lol
good luck and keep your chin up ^^

I know what you are going through!!! I have 2 children myself, Bryanna 6 and Nicholas 3. I was working full time until I recently got laid off from my job. From what it sounds like, Abby is testing the waters right now with Mommy. She sees that Mommy has started working and wants to see how far she can go. My son did this and is still doing it and he's 3 going to be 4 in July!!!! He's SLOWLY coming out of it. It gets better!!!

My almost three year old has been really difficult too lately. She is very loud and very strong willed. I would agree that yelling does not seem to help with her and maybe even makes her worse. I think some kids just like to do anything that gets them a reaction, whether it’s a good reaction or a bad one. For me, what seems to work the best right now when she is misbehaving is when I stare at her with my really mad look and I don't stop until she stops whatever she is doing. Instead of yelling, I lower my voice to almost a whisper (which seems to help because she has to be quiet to hear me) and I give her a warning. If that doesn't work, she goes to time-out and I set the timer for two minutes. If she doesn't stay in time-out or if she is making a bunch of noise, then the timer starts over until she stays in time-out and is quiet for two minutes. Also, I recently enrolled her in a preschool and she has been much better since she started going, I think sometimes she just misbehaves because she is board so getting her out of the house more and keeping her involved in household activities when we are home seems to help. Good luck! Hopefully its just a phase and she will grow out of it soon! :)