When Toddlers Become Too Much

Props to all the moms who have survived a three year old!

Terrible twos? Pssht! Two was a walk in the park compared to three!  Three = the teenager of the toddler years.

First, they are smarter. They have learned a lot by two, but just enough to get them in trouble. At four they have better reasoning skills but at three”Mom look at this” is the toddler equivalent to “Dude hold my beer”.

Second, they have become the masters of manipulation.  At two they are just figuring this out but at three they have figured the best way to maximize that tantrum in the middle of Target.

And for us the biggest hit has been that even though you may have had little man sleeping trough the night since he was six months old he now knows how to effectively break out and pull up Netflix in the middle of the night.

When toddlers become too much | Ten at teh Table | http://tenatthetable.com

To survive this phase we all need to find ways to keep our sanity. Here are a few of my favorite tips to make it to make it to four with my mind in one piece.

  1. Aromatherapy play dough. This works for both of us, little man gets the lavender play dough before nap or bedtime. He loves it, and when you make it yourself you can customize the scent to your child needs.  I also love using wild orange essential oil in the play dough, it is great for rainy days, to give us both a pick me up. Learn more about Essential Oils.
  2. Outside time. This is probably the most important. You have to let them run off all of that  energy. Their bodies are working overtime and they always have energy to burn. Also get out there with them are run around, exercise is a great way to increase your endorphins.
  3. Trade play dates with another mom if you can or maybe arrange for a relative to stop by a few times a month to give you a break.  This is also important for working moms who may feel guilty for taking any time off. If you don’t have down time every now and then you could  be setting yourself up for a BIG crash, unless you are wonder woman.
  4. I am going to have to turn in my big sister/babysitter of the year card when I tell you my next tip.  Let them occasionally watch TV. I know. I know. How dare I suggest you put little Sally Sue in front of the tube and walk away. Occasional educational children’s programming will not rot your child’s brain. If you stick them in front of the TV all day then yes that would be bad for your child.  We usually schedule little man’s TV for when we are prepping dinner.  Pick shows that may reinforce what you they may be learning at preschool (for us it is home school) or Sunday school.
  5. Pick your battles. If they want to wear the purple cape when you go out to the store, let them. If they want to only eat purple food, nip that in the bud.  You have to find what works for you, your kid, and your family.

What tips do you have for surviving when toddlers become too much?

5 Thoughts on “When Toddlers Become Too Much

  1. Wow aromatherapy play dough I had never heard of that, but what a great Idea! Thanks, for sharing this!

  2. Star Traci on February 11, 2015 at 5:11 pm said:

    You are so right! Three is way tougher than two. Mine are older now (7 & 11) but I think that aromatherapy play dough sounds cool!

    🙂
    Traci

    • Totally Traci! The play dough is fun for all ages. Especially if you make a large batch of it. Then there is plenty to go around. Two of our kids (11 & 12) had a great time playing with it and making characters for a story out of it. They were fighting with each other, so we made them play together with the play dough that had a couple drops of wild orange essential oil as a mood booster. 😉

  3. As a mother of 3 and a parent educator I know about those 3s. Picking your battles is the best piece of advice a parent of any aged child can use. Thanks for sharing at the This Is How We Roll link party at Organized 31.

  4. Really like the idea of aromatherapy play dough, will use that trick. Glad I stopped by from pinterest.

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