I get that this is a normal part of child development, but the push for independence is unreal!!! Right on cue, Emily turned two and has developed an attitude. She's still a sweet and precious little girl 80% of the time, but that other 20% is brutal! "NO!" is her new favorite word (despite the fact that I make her say, "No, thank you" every single time) and lately every day is the Emily show. She'll begin singing a song. I'll join in and she'll yell, "Listen to Emily!" Seriously!? We're in the car and she wants to listen to Elmo. Or should I say, "Ellllllll-MO! ELmo! Elmooooooo!" Wow. I've lost count of the times I've had her repeat, "Elmo, please." I have to remind her constantly that only her magic words will get Elmo for her. Don't feed me. Don't dress me. No stroller -- I'll walk. Apparently she'll take it from here.
Sometimes when Emily doesn't get her way she now resorts to a funny screaming / squealing thing. What often begins as a tantrum will then fold into a sort of experiment with different volumes and pitches and I can see her thinking to herself, "Did I make that sound??" before trying another. This scares the dog, of course. She tends to forget she was upset, but only after a minute or so of flailing and yelling. Jason and I go about our business and pretend we don't hear anything. I've even told her on occasion, "I only hear sweet voices." Isn't the lack of attention supposed to make it die down!? Is this a 2-year old thing? I can't wait for her to turn 3. Then again, I've heard 3 can be even worse than 2 when it comes to this stuff. How terrifying is that!?
Ah yes...the terrible two's! This too shall pass :)
ReplyDeleteTry whispering to her when she is screaming, she will have to stop to hear you!