The Three Year Old Throwdowns

My 3 year old is testing me! A test of physical, emotional, and psychological endurance and strength. This week, we've had night after night of temper tantrums...

Temper tantrum setoffs include:

• Being told "No"
• Saying the word "No"
• Indicating in some way "No"

Terrible twos? Psssh... twos were a piece of cake! When Vincent was two, he was an angel child. Now, at 3, he thinks he runs this house! He thinks he gets to dictate what's on the television, what we eat for dinner, or whether or not we pick up his sister from daycare. Yes, I got to hear the wonderful wailing and howling stylings of Vincent all the way home as he exclaimed "I don't want to pick up Audrey!" Yelling back that he was going directly into time out when we got home made it even louder!

At home, time out consisted of more loud screaming, throwing himself on the ground, throwing books from his bookshelf which guaranteed my little monster a trip to his bedroom. In his bedroom, he finally managed to calm himself down and we had a little chat in which I explained that his behavior was completely unacceptable, we hugged and then we went downstairs and Vincent cleaned up the items he had thrown.

After tonight's showdown, I felt confident in how I handled the situation. Vincent seemed happy and cooperative for the rest of the evening. I'd like to think Supernanny would give me a gold star, but I can tell the battle isn't over!

The throwdowns of the threes are no joke!