There’s a reason it’s called the terrible two. Your baby has been replaced by a strong-willed little person. They want to do everything themselves, but they can’t do it. They get upset to the point of throwing themselves to the ground. They start telling you no.
What’s a single dad to do when there’s no one available for the tag team? Here are some ways to smooth out the rough edges.
– 2 minute timeout for when things get out of hand. The 2 minutes gives enough time to make a change, but not so long that the child becomes frustrated and more rebellious.
– If they are playing with something you don’t want them to have, give them something they can play with while you take the other thing away. Keep the right things on hand to make switching easier.
– They will want to choose their clothes and dress themselves. Dressing can become a hobby. It’s not that the pile of clothes isn’t tall enough as it is. Be sure to buy clothes that are easy to put on. I was so happy when they put velcro on the shoes. Trying to get three kids out on my own, they were great.
– Let the little ones do things around the house to help. I know when you’re done, the house won’t be quite what you’d like, but soon they won’t want to help as much. If you ask them to help now when they want to, you can tell them that they have always helped when they ask why they have to. Some things that two-year-olds can do are dusting, sweeping, washing plastic utensils, putting silverware on the table, and picking up toys.
– Sometimes they feel frustrated because they cannot articulate what they feel or want to do. Talk about what is happening so they can hear words to use. You might say, “I know you don’t want to get ready for bed right now, it must be frustrating having to stop playing. It’s time for bed and you’ll be playing in the morning. I’m going to bed in a bit too.”
– Make sure they are not hungry or tired when they go shopping. We are also not at our best when we are tired or hungry. To minimize the effects, keep snacks simple and easy to pack, such as whole grain crackers or dried fruit.
– When you have to stand in line, like at the post office or grocery store, make up a game and have them help you count people, tiles, fingers, anything else useful to keep them busy.
– Having a routine at bedtime, this helps the transition from being awake to having to go to sleep. It will also allow you to have some evening time to yourself.
– Fill out your schedule a bit. Remember that everything is new to them. They want to check it out. If you fill your schedule where there is no downtime, you will end up just as frustrated as your child. They’re going to want to stop and check out the bug on the sidewalk. Or flip the light switch on and off endlessly. Make sure you have set aside some time to do this.
– Don’t let potty training turn into a battle. Make sure she takes a bathroom break when she gets up, before she eats, and before she goes to bed. This helps to have fewer accidents. A cool trick I learned from my grandmother is to turn on the water in the sink to help them get started.
It can be overwhelming if you try to do all ten at the same time. Pick one or two to try and see how it works for you. If they work great keep doing them, if not stop and try some of the others. Here are some things that have worked for me with one or more of my children. Know that you will be fine and before you know it, your child will be three years old.