Owh dear...
Owh deary me... It's not always that rosy here in Casa d Mono. I think we have hit the terrible 2s phase. I think I know why they called it the terrible 2s and I can understand why at 2 years old, you would be frustrated.
At this stage, I understand that most children understand the basic cause and effect (affect?). They understand a little bit of consequence. Take for example this photo. What happened? Well, the Lil' Tiger wanted more than her fair share of morning tea and after being told she had enough and has to wait till lunch time, THIS happened. A screaming child complete with tears.
At this age, it's hard for children to communicate to parents what they want and if communications are either ignored or misunderstood, then the child might get angry or frustrated and usually it results in tears and screams. When I sense the Lil' Tiger is trying to tell me something and is getting frustrated because I can not understand her, I will usually try to get her to show me what she wants by pointing or saying words. Once I understand what she is trying to say or show me, then we are usually happy as Larry BUT sometimes, I feel like she is testing her boundaries with me and that is when we clash.
My child, my sweet little girl, is a willful child. She is the exact replica of me. We are both stubborn. I am not sure how M will last in this household. HAHAHA... anyways, she is very very determined. Once she set her mind on something, she will not lose track until she gets it. I guess that is not a bad thing but it does make us clash heads from time to time. OWH I can see us going at each other when she becomes a teen.
It is a good thing that I learnt something from my parents while they were bringing us girls up. To turn a deaf ear. Yes. You see tears and screams doesn't really work for my parents. You can scream all you want or cry all you want and it will not get you your way. What works for my parents that I will ATTEMPT to make it work on my sweet little child is talking and working through it. We were thought that we can not get anything and everything we want and kicking and screaming will not get you anywhere. In fact, kicking and screaming will take you further away from what you want.
I am still learning. I do give in sometimes when I am either tired or I just want to get on with things. I feel bad sometimes for giving in and I feel even worst for not giving in sometimes but I do want to set an example that we can not have everything we want or we have to wait our turn to use something.
Do you have a willful child? How are you handling it?
