Hi. Ive been having alot of trouble with my 2-almost-3 year old. And Im not exactly sure where to begin, so I guess Ill start from the beginning. When she was a newborn even, she did not like to be held or cuddled. She would stick her arms up and her butt out and try and slide right out of your arms. Thankfully Ive never dropped her! But it came close a couple of times. She still hasnt slept through the night once, but atleast now she just plays in her room when she wakes up and eventually goes back to sleep. She hasnt been taking naps for a few months now, even though we still lay her down for an hour or so, and its much needed! And every now and then when we lay her down for "nap time" she takes off her diaper and smears poop all over her room. Shes done this probably around 15 times in the last 6 months. The only way she wont do this is if we tape her diaper on, which I think confuses her because were still trying to potty train her.
Im a stay at home mom, and all I do all day long is play with her and her brother(1 and a half years) (other than cleaning up the house every couple of minutes!). We play with toys, playdough, finger paints, ect. but nothing ever ends well. She is always whining or screaming or hitting or pushing, and it always ends in a timeout.
On alot of the other parenting sites Ive posted on, people either tell me its my fault, or thats just a normal 2 year old. Buteven other parents around me say things like, she doesnt smile very often or that she has "a very strong personality". And then I see other kids her age (She goes to a daycare a couple times a week so she can play with other kids, and we have friends that come over for playdates) and its like everything they do, she takes to the extreme. And even comparing her to my son, hes just such a happy little cuddley guy! Yes he gets into trouble too, especially as he gets closer to 2, but its normal toddler things! He gets into things he knows hes not supposed to, throws tantrums, even stomps his feet sometimes, but its what every other kid his age does. And I see other parents feel embarrassed or frustrated when their kids acts like that, and Im just like this is my easy child!
Ive also read alot of parenting books and personality books, and nothing seems to work. I try redirecting her, like if she takes a toy away from her brother I ask her to give it back and then try to give her another toy. What happens is always: She doesnt want the other toy and she will NOT give it back, so eventually Ill try to give the other toy to her brother and then she wants it. (I dont take the first toy away from her because that just shows her its okay to take toys away.) And then if I dont give her toy #2 she throws the first toy at her brother then screams and tries to take it away from me, and sometimes she even hits me too. I calmly tell her, "We dont hit. Hitting hurts.", and then she goes in timeout. Never fails!
It just seems like shes an overall unhappy child, and it hurts me because of course it feels like my fault. We give her as much attention as possible when shes being a good girl (Which isnt very often lately), and tell her were proud of her and we love her all the time when shes being good. But it doesnt help at all. Ive set up an appointment for this coming Wednesday with her pediatrician, but until then I just dont know what to do because these last 2 weeks have been the worst yet. And this happens every couple of months, She will be ok for awhile where the tantrums and behavior wont be as bad ( about the far end for most kids), and then for a couple of weeks she will be completely horrible to where I just dont know what to do. It seems like she spends all day in timeout and I feel like a horrible parent!!
Is there anyone who has any suggestions or who has been through or going through the same thing? Because its just hurting me so bad feeling like all of this is my fault. Its like everytime I lay her down at night I just break down and cry. I love my little girl, and I want her to be happy and know shes loved.
Im a stay at home mom, and all I do all day long is play with her and her brother(1 and a half years) (other than cleaning up the house every couple of minutes!). We play with toys, playdough, finger paints, ect. but nothing ever ends well. She is always whining or screaming or hitting or pushing, and it always ends in a timeout.
On alot of the other parenting sites Ive posted on, people either tell me its my fault, or thats just a normal 2 year old. Buteven other parents around me say things like, she doesnt smile very often or that she has "a very strong personality". And then I see other kids her age (She goes to a daycare a couple times a week so she can play with other kids, and we have friends that come over for playdates) and its like everything they do, she takes to the extreme. And even comparing her to my son, hes just such a happy little cuddley guy! Yes he gets into trouble too, especially as he gets closer to 2, but its normal toddler things! He gets into things he knows hes not supposed to, throws tantrums, even stomps his feet sometimes, but its what every other kid his age does. And I see other parents feel embarrassed or frustrated when their kids acts like that, and Im just like this is my easy child!
Ive also read alot of parenting books and personality books, and nothing seems to work. I try redirecting her, like if she takes a toy away from her brother I ask her to give it back and then try to give her another toy. What happens is always: She doesnt want the other toy and she will NOT give it back, so eventually Ill try to give the other toy to her brother and then she wants it. (I dont take the first toy away from her because that just shows her its okay to take toys away.) And then if I dont give her toy #2 she throws the first toy at her brother then screams and tries to take it away from me, and sometimes she even hits me too. I calmly tell her, "We dont hit. Hitting hurts.", and then she goes in timeout. Never fails!
It just seems like shes an overall unhappy child, and it hurts me because of course it feels like my fault. We give her as much attention as possible when shes being a good girl (Which isnt very often lately), and tell her were proud of her and we love her all the time when shes being good. But it doesnt help at all. Ive set up an appointment for this coming Wednesday with her pediatrician, but until then I just dont know what to do because these last 2 weeks have been the worst yet. And this happens every couple of months, She will be ok for awhile where the tantrums and behavior wont be as bad ( about the far end for most kids), and then for a couple of weeks she will be completely horrible to where I just dont know what to do. It seems like she spends all day in timeout and I feel like a horrible parent!!
Is there anyone who has any suggestions or who has been through or going through the same thing? Because its just hurting me so bad feeling like all of this is my fault. Its like everytime I lay her down at night I just break down and cry. I love my little girl, and I want her to be happy and know shes loved.