Two Year Old Making Me Crazy

you sound like you have kidnapped my daughter (no wait she is right here whining.) i was on here a month ago asking for advice on how to keep my daughter in her bed and though i got alot of good suggestions the one thing that worked for me was to deleat her nap during the day some times she still naps but i only let her sleep for and hour or so. the getting out of bed thing preety much came to an end because she was so tiard by the time she went to bed she was out like a light and she quit getting up with me at 5:15am when i got up to send my husband off to work. and the exercise thing i have just begun doing exercises but i do them during the time when my daughters are awake they are 1 and 2 but like to pretend that they are doing the samething mommy is doing and we have a good time. the whinning thing on the other hand as we both know is awful not only does my 2 year old do it but my 1 year old is picking up sissy's habit fast. i don't give in... 2 is old enough to understand quit whining and TALK to me, she knows that if she whines she ain't gonna get what it is she wants. i think it is the age truely though this is the 3rd time i have been thru terrible 2's (3 down, 1 to go) trust me it gets nerve racking! hang in there

Hi A.,
My almost 3 is getting out of that stage (some days NOT out yet).
I got some good advice-don't give in to her tantrums just to keep her quiet. Give time outs when appro. (If you tell her something and she doesn't do it, say something like "if you dont' do that I'll give a time out). I had to put my little princess on the changing table for time outs b/c she won't sit still and is afraid of heights.

The best thing we've tried is putting a baby gate at her bedroom door (Her room is upstaris and ours is downstairs-don't want her falling in the middle of the night). We close her bedroom door, put a child resistant plastic-thingy on it (the thing you put on to make it hard to open the door), close and put a gate outside. She stays in her room now. We get some rest too while encouraging her to sleep in her room.

The OTHER Best thing I've tried is-counting to "3", I tell her if she doesn't start whatever-picking up her toys, going upstairs to get ready for bed (we have the opposite problem-getting her IN bed in the first place)by the time I count to 3 She will get a timeout, take away priveliges (not listening to music while going to sleep) etc... It took about a week of consistantcy but now she's doing much better.

Also-if you are newly single or she spends time with her Dad, the changes could be part of the problem.
You could try and explain stuff to her in advance-the night before I try and tell her about what's going to be going on the next day-the past few days we've been reading "Twas the night before Christmas" trying to prepare her to GO TO SLEEP TONIGHT :-P :-).
The prep really helps her with tantrums the next day.

I hope this helps!
Merry Christmas,
C.

My daughter signed me up on here, but I did successfully make it through four children in their two year old stages. My best advice is to be patient, for they wont stay two forever. Pray for help with the nerves part and just sit down with her for a few moments when she needs you. Later on when you need her to bond ( teen years) there will be a trust established by your giving up your time now. Napping is imperative and you should encourage nap time, even if you have to lie down a few moments with her to get her to fall asleep. When she naps, then , take time for yourself. These years pass quickly by and you can never get "time" to come back.

This all sounds pretty typical for many two year olds. Of course she wants to be with mommy all the time. You are the light of her life. Maybe she could color a picture while you exercise and then you could both put it up aftewards. Remember to talk to her in a soft and tender voice. The more yelling and fussing you do, the more she will do this also. There are lots of good children's shows early in the morning either on cable or you can watch them on the computer maybe on the Disney.com website or the Nickelodean (spelling?) site. Good luck! The older she gets the more she'll do on her own as long as you encourage this behavior. My workout schedule was fizzled too in the beginning and I hated it. Just do bits when you can.

Normal to a point. Frequent temper tantrums are not okay, I don't care what anyone says. Take a look at Becky Bailey's Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline and the Sears Discipline Book. Two extremely helpful books!!

Good luck!

L.

I have a little girl that was born in July of 06 so she is probably about the same age as your little angel. Mine does the same thing. Only she didn't start it because she was sick. I purchased a little fold up cot and started getting her to sleep in it in my room on occasion. If i need my morning to myself I just pick her and it up and move her to a different room where she wont be wakened. I don't think it sounds superficial to need your work out time. I think that it's important for you relieve stress because you don't have another adult there to release it on. GOOD LUCK!

I just posted about my two year old last week so I am pretty sure it is the age! Hold on..at least that is what I have heard. Consistancy is just the key. As with every other stage, they are pushing their boundaries. I hope you get back on schedule soon and things work themselves out. Good Luck!