The Terrible Two’s –Really?

When my daughter, Willow, turned two I thought that maybe not every child went through ‘terrible two’s’ but then she got closer to two and a half and I believed it! I heard a lot of, “I don’t want to!” “I don’t have to!” “NO!”... along with grabbing things from me, kicking, screaming, and hitting I chalked it up to boredom and kept her so busy some days that she fell asleep at night before the end of two songs on the radio. Still, most days I was exhausted from the constant battles and putting too much effort into what I got done each day.. Not very joyful but I kept telling myself that it was just a phase.

Then, on a list/organizing website I noticed lists for toddlers’ responsibilities and a ‘caught ‘ya being good’ list so I’ve been trying it now for about a week and I think it’s working!!



On the list are things such as: puts own toys/books away; helps momma with chores; eats well; puts own pull-up in garbage; gets herself dressed; helps bath herself. She is so proud when we go to the fridge to put a checkmark on the list and add up the checks at the end of the day. Positive reinforcement... an amazingly fun and easy solution!

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