Pick your battles

When it comes to two year old toddlers and by that it could mean 2-3yr old tods, I've learned to pick my battles. As you know, this is the golden age of exerting independence (and terrible twos, goes hand in hand!)  so there are plenty of battles on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, ‘terrible twos’ tend to start as early as 18 months, as it was for our case. When we first had a taste of what it’s like, the husband and I were shaking our heads in disbelief. We knew it was going to be somewhat a challenge, but surely wasn't expecting a tsunami of a tanty! Good Lord!

There’s a silver lining to this though. It took us a couple months of getting constantly hammered with leg stomping tanties that, we sort of realize this could be avoided somewhat, but not completely. I think as a parent, you sort of, got to live around it and do things more smartly. We began to learn her que, things that would trigger and sets her off, and avoided them like a plague - it has been somewhat of a success. Obviously, as I mentioned before, it cannot be completely avoided. Some days, when it happens, it happens. We just deal with it through gritted teeth.

As the saying goes, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and that couldn't be any more true. Miss Bossy is the product of us and we are not that much of an angel either, in terms of temper. I have a very short temper, so does the husband. We are both not the most patient people around but at least the husband is probably a little bit more patient than me. So genetically, Miss Bossy is not far off the chart either so you know where this is heading, right?

I cringe every time I look at her when she throws a hissy fit because she reminds me so much of me! God forbid what she’s going to be like when she’s a teen! But I have full faith (with a little bit of delusion) that she will turn out to be nothing like her mother who happened to be an angst teen back in the days. You have no idea what I put my poor mum through all those years. I love you mum!

Anyway, here is an idea of the dramas we have been/and are still going through with Miss Bossy. They are ongoing but I've pointed out tactics to combat them in my own ways. To me, it’s all about smart parenting to be honest - why put unnecessary stress on yourself when you can have a different view/use a different approach to things. Parenthood itself is as stressful as it is!

Sleep – That sleep by 7pm routine is out the window – not realistic with this age and also with our lifestyle anyway; we are lucky if she goes down at 8pm but we are not up in arms if she doesn't as she’s usually out by 9pm anyway. She still naps once a day, usually after lunch for a couple of hours. On days that she naps, she tend to go to bed by 9pm. On days that she doesn't nap, she goes down by 6.30pm. We would try to keep her awake if she has not nap by 2.30pm so that she could head to bed early otherwise the later she naps, the later she goes to bed at night!

Bath time - Ongoing; hates being ordered to take a bath, but my strategy now is to tempt her with painting in the tub so this way she gets excited about having a bath and she does. She is a sucker for painting so these days, I don’t even have to beg her to take a bath because she would ask me for it. Win! Who's the clever mummy?

Meal time – Not too bad; she eats most of her day time meals (breakfast, morning tea, lunch, arvo tea) at childcare 5 days a week. Apparently, she eats really well there, something to do with peer pressure, monkey see monkey do that sort of thing. Common among that age.  So literally she has dinner and weekend meals at home. She eats like a bird and would prefer to snack throughout the day. At times, she wouldn’t touch her meal and I’ll let her be.  Some nights, all she wanted are a packet of yogurt, cheese, banana, strawberries and chicken for dinner. I also tend to cook her dishes (spaghetti bolognaise with lots of hidden vege, stir fry chicken and vege noodle) that she loves and that usually goes down a treat but even so, some days she’ll turn her nose up on them too, so it’s a hit and miss. I’ve learned one thing from children is that, they WILL NOT starve themselves. They will eat when they feel like it, no point pressuring and forcing them to.  If she doesn’t want to eat the scrumptious meal that I’ve prepared, so be it. I’ll keep that in the fridge for another day.

Clothing – Ongoing; this would be the most annoying one of all. Every single morning we will fight over what she wears. She WILL not wear clothes that I pick out for her, unless it has dog or cat picture on it. The ‘giving her two options of clothing’ trick doesn’t work on her anymore, only dogs or cats outfit goes. She can wear whatever she wants so long as I don’t have to fight with her. I really don’t need a whiney and screaming child first thing in the morning while trying to get ready and rush out the door. 

You know, despite having said all the above, this is most fun age ever! I would not change it for anything.  She’s so cheeky, witty, funny and makes us roar with laughter daily. As bossy and short temper as she is, she is terrific in many other ways. I love discovering new things about her and I love chatting to her even more. She says the funniest thing! So much fun! Such a dear wee girl she is, love her so much!

xo, Miss Leney