The Tantrum!

So my son turned two middle of this October. Everyone joked that we’d be entering the famous stages of The Terrible Twos. Every time I heard someone mention this I just chucked and replied with “yup, the terrible twos…” little did they know I’ve been dealing with the terrible twos since my son was 10 months old. My husband deployed when our son was 5 months old and returned when he was 17 months. I’m not sure if our son acted the way he did because of not having my husband around or just the fact that I was stressed but let me tell you, he is the KING of tantrums.

My question is this, how do you personally deal with tantrums? I’ve tried the just ignore it method. I’ve tried the time out method. I’ve tried to talk him through them. I’ve tried many a thing, and nothing seems to work for his tantrums. We are currently in the fall and flail mode of tantrum world, we’ve already passed the cry and puke mode. This process consists of me saying or doing something to upset son, son yelling “NO!”, son then getting the look from me, son then throws himself onto the floor and pretends he’s an alligator that is snagged on a hook (ya know, when they do that roll thing.. ya, that!). It’s quite the experience, but it’s even better when he’s doing it in Wal-Mart and the old ladies look at me like I’m the dumb parent who can’t control her child.

I hope these tantrums have an end in sight. They drive me batty and my son is bound and determined to give himself a concussion. However though, as a parent, I try to find the silver lining in moments like this, so, my silver lining moment: When my son decides he wants to try out for an episode of Swap People, he will absolutely be cast as the unfortunate alligator. He will have the alligator roll completely perfected. Oh! Another silver lining moment, when his kids decide tantrums are the coolest thing since ice cream, I’ll get to sit back and laugh out loud and tell him “Honey, I have so been there, done that and I don’t feel bad!” And for those of you who are reading this thinking, “oh my goodness, that sounds just like my kid!” know you’re not alone. For those of you who are reading thinking “what the heck is this bat talking about? My kid never acts like that!” well, I will keep my mouth shut and tell you to cherish your quiet! 🙂