The terrible twos stage can really hurt…
One thing that I certainly feel as a parent and especially a stage I am going through right now is the terrible heartbreak and guilt I feel when either myself or my wife are trying to discipline our toddler to cope with this tough terrible twos behavior.
We know we have to be strong and consistent in our discipline and for many of us that means using the Time Out room or process. It all sounds easy enough in theory as you follow the perfect steps…
Steps in controlling the terrible twos:
1) Gently reassure to your toddler that their current behavior is not acceptable.
2) Repeat
3) Repeat again 
4) Without fuss, raised voice, hitting or anything else aggressive, take your toddler to the predetermined time out area and then they patiently wait there, again without fuss for the correct period of time. (Normally 1 minute for each year of life the terrible twos toddler has so far enjoyed!)
5) After the time is up, you and your terrible twos toddler discuss the issue and all is resolved with apologies all around and a new behavior standard agreed on.
Yep…that’s how it goes in the books!
Unfortunately we often encounter something a little more different don’t we?
Here’s the real way that terrible twos negotiations happen!
First of all it’s a fight to drag them to their time out location, kicking and screaming. Then trying to get them to actually stay there for the full time and then of course the heartbreak - the “I don’t love you anymore!’, toys and other items being thrown around, doors kicked and belted if you have put them in a solitary room and of course the most tear jerking of all, the tears, sobbing and wailing!
For me, there is nothing worse than putting my beautiful little son, my absolute pride and joy, the little being who I would instantly lay down my life for, into time out in the spare room and then struggling to keep the door knob shut all the while why he chucks the mother of all terrible twos tantrums, kicking the door and then culminating in the massive heart breaking sobs and deep breath crying!
After all, it is one of our most basic and instinctive traits to put the care and well being of our children above all else. We hate to hear or see them in distress but realizing that this process is for the greater good is not always as easy as it seems.
One of the biggest reasons why many parents find this so hard is the simple fact that many people use terrible twos controlling methods that just don’t work. So the more they struggle with ineffective methods and strategies, the harder it is no learn the new ways of parenting and we too often resort back to smacking, yelling and hitting because this is how most of us were raised – it is our natural way of dealing with overwhelming situations such as these.
The truth is, that old style parenting really does not work like it used to on toddlers going through the terrible twos. The world is changing and so is the way our children respond to the old ways of parenting. With this in mind, if you are a concerned parent wanting to truly find the best ways to deal with the terrible twos behavior (and indeed all child behavior) it really pays to do as much learning as you can.
There are countless books on the subject of terrible twos however due to our ever increasingly busy lives, especially us parents, I can really recommend the Talking To Toddlers audio program. Getting this great parenting toddlers course in an easy to absorb way means we can listen to the programs in our cars, our home stereos while we do housework, our iPods, pretty much anywhere we can play a CD or plug into a MP3 player!
Find out more about this amazingly easy to learn and implement system by clicking the image below. I really hope you can get some great value out of it like I did. Parenting is hands down one of the hardest jobs around and when we throw in the terrible twos stage we need all the help we can get!
I wish you all the best in dealing with the terrible twos…and beyond!
Cameron
The Number 1 Rated Toddler Parenting Course On The Internet!
