And the real disciplining begins ...

We have just returned from a lovely week with my folks in Bluffton, South Carolina.  The weather was chilly at times, but nice enough to allow Max to ride outside on toys, many morning walks, and Michael could get out on the golf course.

For some reason it also brought out the terrible two's from a hiding place in Max.  He was a little tear at so many times at the drop of a hat.  He screamed, kicked, hit, threw things, broke through gates, DREW ON COMFORTERS, etc.  My mum and dad were so patient with his crying and such, but said I needed to be more firm.  What does "more firm" mean?  My mum said I would lose him; figuratively, not literally.  He will continue and get more out of control.  This is not good.  This is something I do not want.  But how can I stop it.

Tiger mom strategy ... Uh, no!

Ignore ... nope.

Psycho screaming out-of-control mom ... no.

Supernanny Jo Frost methods ... sounds good to me!  Time outs and naughty steps and put them back put them back put them back.  Needless to say I am exhausted.

I am dealing with what I am sure is a typical two-year-old, yet he seems so prone to become Mr. Tantrum in a matter of 3.4 seconds.  He stomps his feet, he will go limp in my hands and fall to the ground, he will hit, scream, kick, throw, etc. etc. etc.

Case in point: naptime.  The routine is awesome until I leave him.  He gets out past the child door handle guard. He hangs on the door, kicks or tries to climb with his feet wrenching it away from the door frame and comes out.  I tried tying the door shut but he would still go through the motions on the other side of the door until he literally falls asleep from exhaustion.  The crying is ok ... it's the kicking and banging and throwing that I will not tolerate.  We now have a fence so he does not have to be shut in.  But he still cries at times which is better than trying to break my door.

I try not to get frustrated because at times all I want to do is walk away and ignore him and let him have it out, but then is he really learning?  What is he learning ... that it is okay to have tantrums as long as you are not damaging something or someone ... like your own vocal chords?  I do not want him to think this is okay, especially in public.  So, I continue, and have had to leave a few public places.

Week of February 14th, 2012