Stevie is quite a handful right now…he makes loud noises, he “sprays” you with lip juices, he screams “No!’ at just about anything (even when he is biting off his nose to spite his face), stiffens up when you try to buckle him into his carseat, runs away when its time to change him, and sobs bitterly into his blankie when he dosen’t get his way.
Stevie is 2. Two years, 5 months and 5 days to be exact.
I find myself taking deep breaths and counting to ten before responding to his antics (I say “respond” instead of “react”, because it implies that I give thought to my actions 🙂 and wonder how much longer is this stage going to last?
This morning however I began to consider, what if the “terrible twos” are like everything else in life, a matter of perspective? What if, I choose to revel in the delights of his emerging autonomy and cheer on his accomplishments while minimizing the impact his negative behaviors have on my day?
It might not make a huge difference in my life long-term, but it could quite considerably make a difference in his if he has a mother that lovingly wipes the tears, calmly directs him in self control and offers a warm lap as a shelter from the scary experience of growing up…and away from Mama, as opposed to someone who looks and acts exasperated and as out of control as he feels.
He is searching, after all, for himself. In the first five years of a childs life his character is built and his personality set. All choices and values will be launched from this platform that has been laid so early in his childhood, we can’t afford to waste a moment, and must instead embrace each stage as an opportunity to guide him to “authentic self” (Dr. Phil McGraw)
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What say you?