The first baby’s 2 years is a radical change in his way of being; it is also known as the terrible 2-year period. The baby begins to acquire autonomy, tends to want to impose their wishes and in their vocabulary, the ‘no’ has been installed.
At 2 years old, children resort to the most desperate strategies to get the attention of parents: crying, tantrums, screaming… Not even the baby may know what happens. Children already begin to attract the attention of parents, to measure their strength and this attitude can extend to 4 years.
It is a normal phase that must be passed, although some live it with more intensity than others. It is characterized because the baby is capricious, self-centered, has tantrums, gets angry easily, cries to achieve his goals.
Tantrums. These are made worse by the fact that the child may not have the vocabulary to express his feelings. They usually begin around the age of 12 to 18 months. They get worse between 2 and 3 years, and then decrease rapidly until the age of 4.
Parents may perceive this age as terrible due to rapid changes in a child’s mood and behavior and the difficulty of dealing with the child. In a minute, your child could be clinging to you and then running in the opposite direction.
Although challenging, these changes are a normal part of the child’s development. 2-year-old children undergo important motor, intellectual, social, and emotional changes. Also, children at this age can understand speech much more than they can express themselves, a factor that contributes to emotions and behaviors that are difficult for parents to interpret.
Try to keep calm. When your child begins to lose his temper, try to redirect his attention. If you can’t distract him, ignore him.
If you are in public, take your child away without arguing or making scandals and wait for him to calm down before continuing with your activity. Also, consider avoiding challenging situations, such as shopping during your child’s nap, and be sure to praise him if he behaves well.
Create routines. The baby will help you have an orderly life and know what is going to happen in each moment. It gives you security and confidence.
Do not react violently. If you have a tantrum or cry, try to remain calm or even leave the room for a moment. Shouting at the child or punishing him not only does not teach him but is counterproductive. It is preferable to teach him that while he acts like this you will not listen to him.
Anticipate. Before a tantrum is triggered, try to avoid it. If you know how you will react to certain circumstances it is preferable to avoid them, at least as long as you do not know how to control your emotions.
Give love. Always show affection; children must grow up in an environment where they can feel love and more love.
Make rules. Start creating rules and limits, few and easy, but clear and understandable to him and try to make everyone who has contact with the child follow those same rules.
Spend quality-time with your children. Spending time with children, even if they are very little, is essential; it stimulates bonds and generates a close and trustful relationship. The development of children is not linear since each child has its variants. But around 2 years old, parents often notice some significant changes in their children’s behavior.
You should know that children are not born with social skills. It is just part of human nature when they begin to integrate into society with a survival mindset.
Our job, as moms, is to sow basic disciplinary and moral concepts. Do not treat your child as if he were already an adult. Your children are not old enough to understand it.
If your child throws the noodles on the floor, do not explain for 10 minutes that he should not throw food on the floor. Instead, take the plate off calmly and tell him that this is not done.
Although we know that it is a little bit difficult to deal with your 2-year-old child, it is not impossible to achieve it at all.
