Naughty Two Year Old

phill99

He's doing it because you're letting him. He knows it winds you up so will do it all the more. He's pushing his boundaries to see how ar he can go.

He's your child. Take control and instil some discipline.

barbiedoll

I can remember my little sister going through the ear-splitting screaming phase. My mum did her best to ignore it until one day, she decided that enough was enough and as soon as my sis started screaming, my mum screamed even more loudly right in her face. It startled my sis so much that she immediately stopped screaming and starting crying and my mum gave her a cuddle and explained that screaming was horrible and that no-one liked hearing it. It did work though, brutal as it sounds, she tried it once or twice again and as soon as my mum took a deep breath to start screaming, my sis stopped in her tracks.

Destroying books is not a big deal for a 2 year old, they don't value things in the same way as we do. Take the books away, don't make a big deal out of it, just bring them out when you have time to read with him. I can remember being horrified when my son doodled all over one of his favourite books but kids don't understand that they have ruined something, it's just fun at the time. He will grow out of the destructive phase...eventually!

I'm sure that the cat can look after his/her self.....as another poster said, be ready with the Savlon and plasters though!

It's all perfectly normal behaviour for a toddler....unfortunately!

Guest101

Welcome to the terrible two's, I found that no matter what you do, the best cure is time and maturity.

But you can limit the behaviour, dont give in to demands for treats etc, and keep trying to explain, but only once or twice, then walk away. and repeat the next time, it does sink in

valk_scot

Have you tried saying "NO! Stop that!" ? To the screaming, the cat, the any other annoying behaviour? NO is a great word and every toddler should understand that when mum or dad say no, they mean no, and right now no. How you back up the NO is up to you but even at two they can understand time out, the naughty chair or their books being removed from them instantly.

mummy86_2

Judi wrote: »

The little mite.... he's playing you!

Ignore him, turn your back on him (if its safe to do so) and don't let him see the stress on your face when he screams.

My eldest used to bang his head off the floor when he couldn't get his own way. Reasoning with a toddler wasn't much use and so I just let him get on with it. He stopped when he saw I wasn't going to give him the reaction he wanted. Within a few minutes I was able to divert his attention to something else. He soon grew out of it.

thanks for this x

gingin_2

mummy86 wrote: »

Hi,

I have a very naughty two year old who keeps screaming these loud ear piercing screams that rattle your head and make you dizzy. He's doing them for NO reason at all like every few mins he will just scream -its driving me crazy!!!! People in my building are starting to think the worst!

Don't be paranoid about what other people think. A good percentage will be parents or will have good understanding of how toddlers can be and will have sympathy with you. My neighbour's toddler has been doing exactly the same thing for a few months, he screams for a few seconds every time he doesn't want to do something ( which is often) I can hear him from inside and outside his house but can tell that the child is just being a trying toddler rather than being abused by his parents. And whilst the toddler years are the most trying and do feel like they go on forever, he will get over it soon.

anngel54

I have begun using time outs on my 2 year old, first warning usualy stops him in his tracks unless we are in public and he will play on it. He also plays me and his Dad off. Shouting at him is no good, Hes going to think its ok to shout at people. Im trying to teach mine to jump and stamp when hes angry. a health visitor explained it to me " It's like they have PMT but they don't understand why" Their personality develops between 2-3 years so its important to encourage confidence, empathy and show you understand what their going through, Their wanting to be inderpendent, but they are still struggling to communicate which is fustrating them. ignore minor misdeminers . but disapline the biggeys. Hope this helps ( I read too many books and watch supernanny she has her own website too).

Claire212

My friends little girl was exactly the same, screaming all day and some of the night. She was also the loudest child imaginable. A true terror. Lol.

At the age of two a toddler pretty much thinks everything in the world belongs to them and they place no value on anything, and as anngel54 said they are dealing with a lot of emotions, so rest assured that the destruction of the books (and cat, Lol.) are not an indication that your child is naughty. My 17 month old still prefers to draw on the wall instead of on paper, and throws fridge magnets AT the fridge! Lol. We use the distraction method rather than time out, as that doesn't work for us at the moment, we think she is too young, but the naughty step is ready and waiting. We don't tell our daughter "No" we tend to say "Don't do that" so we have so far avoided her learning the word and using it to her advantage.

Toddlers love the sound of their own voices and screaming is a their way of making their presence known, with my friends daughter it was accompanied by hearing loss. She had her hearing tested and within 2 months of having a hearing aid she was a different calmer child.

Chances are that your son is just asserting his presence in the world, but I thought I would let you know of other possibilities.

x

thorsoak

As others have said, he is dong it BECAUSE HE CAN. You want to stop him doing it, so you either have to (a) offer him an alternative - ie "stop making that silly noise and we'll do a jigsaw/read a story/paint a picture .." or (b) put him on the naughty step/his cot/room "until you stop making this silly noise, you WILL stay here!

As for hurting the cat - you must step on this immediately - remove him from the cat and TELL him firmly that it is bad to hurt the cat and that he must not do it.

BE FIRM BUT LOVING!

pigpen

Poor puss.. They do learn to move if they don't want to risk being hit.. unless it is 2 of my stupid cats that just sit there and yowl. When mine have hit the cat we have firmly said 'do not hurt that poor cat' then shown them how to stroke the cat nicely.. regardless of the fact 2 months ago they were perfectly pleasant with the cat.. it just reinstills the positive stroking towards the pet.. and do the 'Nice puss cat.. tickle tickle' ... One of mine is a little bolshy though and has lashed out a couple of times.. but usually she just walks away.

I have a screamer too... she will just sit and scream for the fun.. I just leave the room.. or let her get on with it.. no reaction at all however much bopping her on the head with a rubber mallet is tempting .. it is a horrible horrible noise, absolutely blood curdling and she does it for maybe 10-12 hours a day!!

Books.. move the ones in good condition and the favourites out of reach, do not replace the torn ones just leave the torn ones for him to trash and be binned and when he starts looking after them better replace the nicer ones. Though do sit and read the nice ones with him so he learns how to treat them properly.