the Terrible truth about the #TerribleTwos
- #SMOM
- Sep 14, 2018
- 5 min read
What can be said that has not already been said...The #TerribleTwos are something for the record books.
The #MiniMe is in them and she is FULLY committed:-)
To be completely transparent, she started the terrible twos at about 16 months and has not looked back.
The unique thing about the #terribletwos is that the good and the bad stem from the same behavior.
Copy CAT
Sloane copies every.single.thing. I say and do. If I put one hand on my hip to brush my teeth, she is putting one hand on her hip to brush her teeth. If I wince my eyes at her because she is not listening to me, she winces her eyes right back at me. If I say "$h@T" because I got my hair wet in the rain, she has said "$h@t" when she got wet from the rain......yeah...I know...I need to watch my language around her...But the way this natural currly hair is set up though...
The thing is, this same #copycat mentality has taught her to put her shoes in their respective cubbies, dirty clothes in the hamper, to hang up her pajamas, and to read a book to her babies to name a few.
She also began to pant and lick her arms after having been around the family dog for one week straight :-O
As frustrating as it can be to have her copy off of every little thing I do, I know it is how she is learning...for better or worse.
Boss Baby
This is a case where I do not know what came first...Sloane being a #bossbaby....or Sloane having watched #bossbaby and taking on that persona. Either way, she is the absolute BOSS BABY.
When I enter her room in the morning, she immediately tells me to "Turn on the Yight...and turn that off! (telling me to turn off the sound machine)" Then these orders are followed with a "Good Mornin'" in this strange Jersey accent (no clue where and how she got it lol).
Before I even get her out the bed...now she is in a toddler bed so she can get herself out....but she lets me know that she has "boo-boo'd" :-(
Fortunately, this is happening less since she is using the potty.
Next, is her demand for "Merlk" and to "Eat, Eat". I, being the REAL #boss, have already anticipated these two demands and have the milk sitting on her table and breakfast made...and Yes, I do want a cookie...but this could be because I am dieting #shrugs.
She also asks for privacy while on the potty by simply saying "No, No" when I try to enter and closing the door on me. Keep in mind, I could not PAY her to give me privacy while using the potty!
However, little girls are often discouraged from being #bossy or #assertive, so I am glad that Sloane is showing no issues with leaning into her inner #GirlBoss...for better or WORSE.
Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner...
Sloane has legit #FOMO. So much so that I have to clean when she is either sleeping or at her father's to stop her from trying to mess with the cleaning supplies. Additionally, I had to buy her a miniature cleaning supplies set so she would leave the real ones alone.
On a sad note: these were some of the last items I purchased from Toys 'R Us...may she #RIP
Sloane is normally leary of the family dog...she does not like land animals, but when we had her BackYard Bash, she was showing him off...all in his face...rubbing on him. Why?
All her little friends were in love with #JonSnow (the family dog who is named after the #GoT Character). If I could speak toddler...again...I am pretty sure Sloane was telling her friends "Yes, this is my dog...he's pretty cool...everyone thinks he's a wolf, but he's not!"
Additionally, I was doing the countdown on her because I needed her to do something. She was repeating after me, but went from two to "shix". I told her "she couldn't even count".
Do you know this child practiced her numbers EVERYDAY since I told her that...proving that she can in fact count and she simply had a momentary lapse in her number judgment. I have to add-Sloane practiced with her own internal motivation to prove me wrong.
Bet you all never thought that #FOMO would be tool to teach your kids to be brave or ignite a fire in them to count their numbers correctly....for better or worse...#FOMO is another way Sloane is learning to live her best life.
Little Einstein
For the record, most kids are geniuses. Science says they are learning at a genius level up until the age of four.
I have seen her hear her toys play a song once and her repeat the song word-for-word.
She attends Spanish class with me and the teacher is her babysitter. The teacher speaks only Spanish to her and Sloane understands.
Sloane has MULTIPLE books memorized. She knows all my friends names and when she sees them she is immediately asking for their children by name.
We have a toy #JonSnow at our place. She fixes his food like her grandfather, ie, adding extra ingredients, and sets it out in front of the toy #JonSnow.
When we go to #TraderJoes, she instantly knows to ask for a "Pop" aka lollipop when we get to the check-out line because that is where they keep the lollipops and give them to the other tiny terrors.
If I tell Sloane that if she does X she will get Y. She remembers the Y...hours later!
To say that these little #terribletwo toddlers are impressive is an understatement.
Here's the thing...
So what has been the truth I have discovered about the #terribletwos? Really, these little humans are legit a reflection of their parents. Sloane acts exactly like me. She gives sideye. She is sassy. She is smart. She is stubborn and strong-willed. She is frustrating to the level of which she wants things to be her way.
So there it is...it's probably you and not them. I have had to REALLY examine and CHECK myself in front of her.
But there is Hope!
I found that implementing meditation time has been really great. It is basically a glorified timeout. I have a mat from Sloane's pack and play that I put in the middle of the floor. Sloane is made to sit on this mat and to not come off until I tell her. Crazy thing is...she does not move.
I ask her to think about why she is not listening to mommy and to CALM DOWN.
I watch Sloane on the baby monitor and before she is allowed to get up, Sloane must agree to listen to me. There are times that Sloane has to sit on the mat multiple times in a row, but the mat works.
Let me also keep it EXTRA real...if Sloane gets a little too ambitious with her misbehavior...she gets a tap. These situations tend to be when she decides to try and do something dangerous like hold the door handle in the car or try to play with an outlet. Needless to say...Sloane has not gone into those territories since the taps:-)
This might not be your thing...I was tapped and I turned out just fine. I love my parents deeply and am a happily, mindful, functioning, well-rounded adult in society. #SparetheRodSpoiltheChild
Sloane may not want to listen to me, but she also does not want to be away from me:-)
Love this one! Sloaney, the mini me, haha.
Those Melissa and Doug cleaning toys are too cute!