Dear Karma, My toddler... My mom said to tell you, well played. #TerribleTwos

It's official, my toddler has reached, what I hope to be, the epicenter of the 'terrible twos.' From the constant screaming, to the tantrums, to the food thieving, to the boundary testing...All day. Everyday. Life around my house has become BEYOND challenging interesting for all involved.


The only bright side to it all is that I'm sure for every little bit of my mind I am losing over this madness, I am gaining a little bit more patience. Which really is a good thing, because as it turns out the only way to survive the terrible twos is to have an abundance of patience while riding out the storm.

My kid is a freaking hand full! No, make that TWO hand fulls. He is a full throttle wild-child that is clearly on a mission to test everything I say, and see exactly how far he can go before I will crack.

I guess it's possible that he has a hearing problem, because when...

I say, No! He hears, Good job, keep it up!
I say, STOP! He hears, HAUL ASS!!!!!!!
I say, no screaming! He hears, shatter eardrums.
I say, no more of something... He hears, freakout, flop around on the floor and fake cry..
I say, time for nap/nite-nite. He hears... nothing. 
I say, eat your dinner. He hears, eat everyone else's food first.



Amazingly, when I say, do you want some ice cream? He says, YES, peeease!



Looks like the hearing impaired angle is out. Terrible twos are back in.

My mom insists that he is completely normal, and that it's not really the terrible twos, it's the fact that toddlers live life constantly experimenting. They have to test things and try things for themselves. My mom also loves to remind me that I was a little toddler a-hole too. Thanks, mom.

I am trying to remind myself that his behavior is somehow normal. Including when he is acting bat shit crazy and not listening to me. I try to remind myself that every parent goes through this. I also remind myself that this is a big part of what parenting is all about; helping your child navigate the world, while teaching right from wrong. Even if it means spending the majority of toddlerhood saying, NO! This behavior is unacceptable because nobody likes a little a-hole...

I have been told that even if during the terrible twos... threes... fours... you do spend the majority of your time wanting to rip your hair out, this too shall pass, and by holding it together, you will raise a child that has their shit together too.  Ahhh parenting...





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April is an award-winning writer and blogger. Her work has been published in over ten countries and four languages. From books to newspapers, to print/online magazines and everything in between, you can find her work. For more on April, Visit AprilMcCormick.com