terrible twos?

I have to document the most horrific of tantrums. I thought we'd try out play dough last night. Three vibrant colors of squishy dough laid out on his play table sure sounded like a great idea! His eyes lit up and his eager hands began flattening the dough into a pancake. I don't know if he couldn't quite get the pancake flat enough or if it was too flat and he missed its previous cylindrical shape when it was fresh out of the can. Either way, screaming fit ensued. I quickly reshaped it into its orginal mold to see if that helped. Nope. Flattened it into a pancake and picked it up showing him it wasn't actually stuck to the table. Nope. I handed it to him gently saying "it's okay, show mommy what you want to do."



Dr. Sears says I should feel privileged since toddlers have more tantrums in front of parents because they're in the presence of people they love and trust. Tantrums shouldn't be interpreted as manipulation; it is rather that they feel safe and trusting enough to lose it with their favorite support person. Well count me blessed! Dr. Sears continues..."parents should do nothing to handle tantrums, we can only respect them." I respectfully watched my 19 month old scream in ungodly tones. He finally let me hold him as I offered soothing words and finally calmed him by distracting him and showing him how to put on and take off the lid on the play dough can.



My cell rang so it was daddy's turn to take a break from barbecuing. He played ball with Kaleb and in the midst of fun put the play dough up. When Kaleb realized his play dough was not on his table the screaming started up again. I couldn't get off the phone and instead had to move into the closet in the furthest bedroom from the action so I could actually hear the PA I was speaking with. When I emerged from the closet I saw that Derek had discovered the source of Kaleb's frustration and had given him back a ball of red dough. Yet Kaleb was still screaming because what he wanted now was the can. As I approached the red-faced monster he looked me square in the face and threw the play dough at my head. At this point I would normally give him a little rap on the hand and tell him not to throw but Derek and I met eyes and the look on both our faces prompted immediate laughter although we did a pretty good job of concealing our laughter from Kaleb. If this sounds awful, please remember I was empathetic, concerned and invested in Kaleb for the duration of his fit but the look on his face when he threw the play dough was so hilarious I lost it!


As soon as he got the can back so he could play with the lid he was all smiles the rest of the night. He gave kisses and hugs to both of us and daddy made him give me extra hugs for throwing dough at me! If this flailing, angry Kaleb is a harbinger of the second year of life Kaleb, mommy will be praying for patience a whole lot! I suppose this is an alternate reason they note "not for children under 3" on the can!