But I Want What I Want When I Want It!

This is a mentality that every kid will test out at 1 point or another. My 2 yr old has definitely been trying this idea out hardcore recently. On a level it is healthy, starting to know what you prefer & do not prefer, but it is totally unacceptable & wrong on another. For example, my daughter started out innocently requesting a specific item for breakfast, sometimes she would get it & at other times she would have to eat something else. Innocent enough right? Well, she recently disccvered that her voice can reach different pitches & after making an unanswered request she would try to shriek. Tried & definitely failed on that 1. Screaming is definitely NOT PERMITTED & consequences will follow every time. After failing at that, my daughter decided to add in stamping her foot down if for example she did not feel like going down for a nap or something. WRONG, tried & failed once again. Kids will test you & rebel, its in their nature, but its up to us to set standards & boundaries to let them know what are acceptable behaviors. Now that the screaming & foot stomping failed, she added in 1 last action to tantrums to try and persuade my husband & I that "She wants what she wants when she wants it!"-The classic, "go dead weight & throw self on the floor" move! Watch out now, she threw out all the stops when she tried this 1 for the 1st time. You could tell she had really thought it through just how she was going to throw her head back, shriek, & kick all at the same time. I think she had been observing when other kids try this move out in stores for sometime & finally got the "guts" to try it herself. Lets see, I believe it was when she wanted juice but I had denied her. She quickly swung into tantrum mode & gave a performance that would put any Oscar winner to shame. The important part as a parent is to not let your child's choices make you lash out in anger. They are going to make mistakes & test you, but DO NOT forget that you are the 1 ultimately in control-NOT THEM! Lets just say that I have not seen any tantrum attempts to that extent since. Does she still act up from time to time? Sure. She is a kid & will constantly test to make sure those boundaries are still there. But the important thing is, they ARE still there every time! Episodes of acting out also becomes much farther apart because I make sure to stay consistent even when I so do not feel like it or it is inconvenient. I constantly remind myself that I am not a bad parent because my child has a bad day from time to time and sometimes makes bad choices, but I am a good parent because I do not just roll over and accept it!
-M&M Momma

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