Leila: My son turned 4 on April 27th. He has been much easier to deal with for about 2 weeks prior to turning 4! His behavior went from being untolerable to tolerable!
Valerie: My 7 yr old is awesome, but she has always been a pretty awesome kid. My 4 yr old is always getting in trouble, but she is very strong willed. In my case I think it has a lot to do with personality and in that case I have a long road ahead of me for my youngest.
Cyndy: My daughter turned 4 on March 17 and gradually I am seeing improvement and it has been fabulous. I still see spurts of the behavior we were seeing, but we really “drew our line in the sand” about 4 weeks ago. It may sound harsh, but we noticed she was taking for granted the things that we have – toys, movies, Wii, DS, etc. – so I took away ALL of her DVDs for about a week. Then I have been giving them back, or not, based on behavior. It has been very effective!
Emily: I am so glad to hear this will get better! The Boy turns three in July and lately has been acting like “someone else’s kid’s” There are days when I want to move out!
Ghada: Hmmm…well, I was one of the ones that found 2 and 3 to be easy. Now at 4 he is so knowledgeable and able to argue a point – it can be tough sometimes butting heads with a 4 year old. But on the other hand, he gets our humor and he can help out in ways that he has always wanted to but not get frustrated – like cleaning up, picking out fruits at the shop…
Mary: I’m with Ghada, my son was a wonderful toddler but having the vocabulary to express his anger with me did not always go well either, like the first time he told me that he hated me. Sure, it hurt, but heck it made me think I was on the right track. Baby girl, who is the definition of a terrible two year old, might not make it to see if the three’s are better – just kidding. I may not live through her screaming fits but I guess that is why they made ear plugs. 🙂
Ghada: So have any of you heard the theory that these terrible tantrums are due to a hormonal surge…AND, this same type of hormonal surge happens in their teens. So apparently the toddler tantrums are just a preview to what they’ll be like as emo teens *shudders*
Lena: WOW, Ghada, that’s a scary thought.
Mary: Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!
Lena: My daughter was horrible when she was 2 and 3, but by 3.5 she became such a little helper. I am truly enjoying her.
Gena: My 3 year old’s behavior is like a rollercoaster. He can be an angel for days and then a demon for days. I’m glad it’s not all the time naughty kid, but those bad days are B-A-D. I think I’ve come to grips that every age has it’s bad sides.
This valuable input has been brought to you by Leila of Life as Leels, Valerie of Valerie’s Reviews, Cyndy of Mama Does It All, Emily, Nap Time is My Time, Ghada of Mama goes BAM, Mary of iNeed a Playdate, Lena, Way2Goodlife, and Gena of Life With Captain Fussybuckets
