My 2 year old - what do I do with her??

[Mom of two]

My little girl, Ella, will be three in a week. She can be the sweetest child on earth when she wants to, lovable, affectionate, showering you with hugs and kisses and giving you little things she made. The problem is, when she wants to do something and I tell her no for whatever reason, she will do her darndest to do what she wanted anyway. For instance, today she tried to take a toy from her one month old sister, and I explained that it was Morgan's toy, and Ella had her own "big girl" toys. Then I offered to let her play with another toy of Morgan's which was almost identical to the one she wanted (just a different color) and she proceeded to try to take the first toy and try to pull it off the play mat that Morgan was on. She can be saucy too, not just to me but to her father, grandparents, aunts, anyone really. Especially if we try to help her do something that she wants to do by herself.

I know these behaviours are normal for that age, but when I try to discipline her she acts like I'm playing a game. Putting her in the corner doesn't work. She laughs and runs out. I can put her back a thousand times and she STILL tries to escape. Sometimes taking a favorite toy will work, but not always.

What have you all tried with your own kids that seemed to work? Or do I just have to suck it up and wait until she grows out of this stage?

 

[yannimama]

think everything of that is normal

 

[lynnikins]

i think you have to deal with it, i get all the same from my nearly 3 yr old hes full of attitude and doesnt listen very well or like sharing with his brother.
i find somtimes if i can catch him trying or about to try to pull something i can distract him and engage him positively in something else and that works

 

[sabby52]

I think that is just normal for a 3 year old, Dec is now 3 years 5 months and he went through a phase of wanting everything he saw and doing whatever he could to get it and also wanting to do everything by himself, but he has almost grown out of it now, he understands he cant have everything and he knows that if there is something he cant do by himself he will need help. I wouldnt worry.

 

[sausages]

My DD is only 2 1/4, but she's a little bugger too sometimes. I do think that the behaviour you have described is perfectly normal, but that doesn't mean it should go unpunished. At our kids ages i feel that they are old enough to discover that if they act inappropriately then that has consequences.

We use the naughty corner, but it's basically a playpen folded right down to a little square, so that she can't leave. When DD got to the age where she needed a proper punishment she would NOT stay on a step/mat/chair either. Plus, i had only just had DS and had no time to be battling with her to stay on a naughty thing. The pen works for us. We treat it exactly how you would a Supernanny naughty step but she just can't get out. It gives us both the breather we need.

If your youngest DD is only a month then it sounds like you're right in the middle of your oldest DD realising she has a sibling that isn't going anywhere and she has to share your attentions. It happened to mine too. We got 2/3 weeks of her behaving normally, but the overnight she turned into a non-sleeper, non-napper, non-eater. Started throwing massive tantrums, was really jealous, whingy, clingy. She was doing normal toddler misbehavious, but all at once and constantly! It was a nightmare, but it was short lived.

Now she's a little bugger, but only within normal limits. It lasted about 6-8 weeks did the rough patch.