Thursday, March 11, 2010

terrible twos

pookie is now two years, nine months and twenty one days old. and now at this age, he has been struck with the terrible twos. i mean t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e. like for the first time since having kids, i had to leave a store because he would not listen. normally (as in three days ago) he walks very nicely along the cart. he holds either the cart or my hand and we have the pocket rule. (his non-holding hand has to stay in his pocket so he doesn't get touchy fingers). granted this doesn't work the entire time but for the most part it does.

not lately.

lately, he hides in the racks of clothing, grabs/drops things off of the shelves. i say ''let's go'' and he says ''no, i still looking''. it's horrible. if he is being mean to peanut/bubba and i tell him to behave he replies ''you behave mama''. you can tell him to stop being mean and be nice and he replies ''i'm not mean, i'm happy.'' even bubba today told him that ''you're happy because you are mean yo-yo. not cause you're nice. you're not nice."

i'm at a lost.

moms, what do i do? if i put him in the big part of the cart (not only is it dangerous) but he throws a royal temper tantrum. if i ignore him, he continues the behavior. i rarely spank, rarely and let alone in public. i don't buy him trinkets and toys so i can't take those away. as of now, my only option is leaving.

it's been three days and leaving stores is officially getting old.

the kids are now completely out of toothpaste because i didn't have a chance to grab it before we had to leave. we have no q-tips for the same reason. we're on our last pack of baby wipes because we never got to that side of the store today.

and it's not just stores. at mr.goodcents tonight he was trying to climb over the back of the booth. he isn't using his inside voice and he vocally throws a hell of a tantrum. even at home* he is pushing peanut and refusing to apologize.

*home is slightly easier because of the option of using a timeout or taking away the toy in question. it's not pleasant but it works. and i don't care how loud he screams/cries at home--could care less as a matter of fact! his tushie is still sitting in timeout.

help!!! i've never dealt with this behavior before and i need i am begging for advice.

4 comments:

  1. ha! I'm still looking for the answer to this "problem" for myself. I really hate being "that mom". Anyway, most of the time I just leave as well (but I feel like that punishes me more than the kid). I've also put them in timeout right there on the spot (in the isle, assuming I'm alone) and sat and waited for the time out. Or the same gone outside the store to a time out. It's worked for me because he knows Im serious. Although it can be hard with more than one kid. Good Luck! Let me know if you come up with any brilliant ideas!

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  2. Jalen gets like that alot in stores. The only thing I've found works for him is talking to him before we go inside. I tell him no fits, no crying, and that he will not get a treat(thats usually why he throws a fit, because he wants a treat). I make him repeat everything back to me, in hopes that it helps it sink in. I sometimes will bring a sippy of juice and bribe him. I say if he is good the whole time in the store he can have some juice when we get back to the car. I hate bribing, but sometimes its the only thing that works!

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  3. I don't have advice since Parker JUST turned 2 and I'm sure his tantrum days are on the horizon. I just wanted to say, good luck! :) You're a great mom, Shannon and I'm sure you'll figure out what works best for you guys!! :)

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  4. I have recently started putting Aiden in the corner. He hates it. I have even put him in the corner at restaurants. Anytime we go anywhere I tell him that everyplace has corners and I will not hesitate to put him there in a store.

    I had tried leaving the store but he didn't really mind that, I have tried the "you get something if your good" but that just leads to him wanting something every time we go anywhere and we go to stores just to get out of the house sometimes.

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