Jayvon is now 2 days shy of being a 14 month old.
Maybe the lack of sleep has addled my brains a tad, but I could have sworn there was still a good 10 months more before he turned two. You know, the dreaded Terrible Two? I genuinely thought he would be an angel till he turned 2. I mean, even my sister’s son Gabriel who is hardly an angel now was docile till after he turned two.
It can’t be.
Not yet.
When did it happen?
It started rather innocently about a month back. When Jay wanted to get his way, he would USUALLY just stare at you, point vigorously in the general direction where he wanted he to go and make a few indiscernable sounds and grunts.
But he would also understand the word “No,” and he would usually allow himself to be distracted by other things.
But not any more. SIGH.
The past week, he has developed a temper, and when he wants something he would progress immediately to tears and screaming and bawling his eyes and heart out. And he would be inconsolable. Even though the night. He would wake up. Every. Single. Hour. Just. To. Cry. And. Get. Attention.
So today, Nic & I really could not take the sleep deprivation anymore. He threw a mini-tantrum again, just before bedtime, and we brought him to the room to discipline him.
Nope, we didn’t cane or beat or scold. We tried what Nic terms “Ignore Therapy”. We basically let him bawl his eyes out, and only comforted him when he stopped bawling. We refused to acknowledge him when he was crying, as we didn’t want to reinforce or encourage bad behaviour. It took us a good one hour to calm him down. And through it all, it was really quite heart-wrenching to see him cry so much. But like what the Bible says, “Spare the rod, spoil the child.” It would hurt me more to raise a child who has no fear of God and not properly disciplined. Why did we wait till bedtime for such discipline? That’s the problem with staying with OTHER people. If we hadn’t locked the bedroom door, grandpa or grandpa or auntie Jaclyn would have likely swooped in to “rescue” Jay from his mean parents.
All the more, I am more acutely aware of the need for the grace of God, to be wiser parents and to know what to do with temper-throwing, tear-dropping, chin-quivering toddler who threatens to reign supreme in my house.
10 comments:
I found with my kids that the 6 months straddling the middle of the years were always the worst. I'm not sure why:)
It's a constant struggle, trying to stay one step ahead of them, isn't it? Good luck - and just think, he'll be able to TELL you with words in just a few short months, which should help a little. :)
Oh man, when he can actually ARTICULATE his demands? That would be quite challenging! LOL!
Hang in there Momma...you are doing a great job by starting now. maybe he is one of those early one's, better to deal with it now, then wait until later.
Stopped in from Sits! Have a great day.
Oh, toddlerhood, what a delight! Sounds like you're making a strong start!
Cxx
Good morning everybody! Have a wonderful fun Sunday from a fellow sitsa.
Checking in from Zen Cupcake
Mine are twelve and nine and at times I envy the terrible twos... it just gets worse instead of better sometimes...LOL
wow lol just want until he can talk really good. My ds is 3 and boy is it work.
I want to invite you to the Mommie Daze Virtual Baby Shower that I am hosting May 15 to June 8. This is an international even and there are prizes! Stop by my blog for all the details.
Yes, do NOT give in to temper tantrums! I nanny for kids who get their way every time they throw a temper tantrum with their parents and it's soooooo annoying!
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