For the past week I have tried to convice myself that my three year old was coming down with "something". There could be no other reason for her crabby attitude, multiple timeouts before breakfast, and outright bitchiness (mostly towards me). Do toddlers get PMS, too? After additional naps, added vitamins, extra balanced nutrition I have come to grips with the truth of the matter: my daughter has become a whining little brat. A cross between Roald Dahl's Veronica Salt ("But I want the Golden Ticket, Daddy! I want it! I want it!") and a mini John McEnroe in his hey day. I recall, with humility, that day I sat in on a parent's discussion about discipline, timeouts, and restriction with children ages 2 to 4. Shelby was about 4 months shy of her third birthday, that would be referred to now as "The Glory Days". And I said, oh man, when my turn came I actually said, aloud, "I haven't had to use any discipline tactics besides asking her nicely and she obeys." The glares, the short exhales, none of it registered until now. At this particular moment, my little "angel" has escaped from her room for the third time, it's 45 minutes past her bedtime and she's crying and screaming "Mommy's meeeeeaaaaannnnnnn." If you're lucky, the "Terrible Two's" strikes early and your child won't be verbal enough to say things to you like, "You hurted my feelings!" or scream, "I hate you, you stinky girl."
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