Ok, So Now What???

Having just turned 2, Owen is becoming more and more opinionated, testing limits, exerting his free will, and developing a temper. All of this is part of being 2, and all part of the fun of having a 2-year-old. Actually, I really do enjoy seeing him grow and change and become his own little person. The "Being 2" doesn't really bother me like I had anticipated.

So what do you do when your child is in full-on-two-ness mode? Well for us, time out~or shall I say the threat of time-out~works fabulously! Has has only gone to time-out a few times and it breaks his heart so much, that the threat is usually all it takes. We ask him to do whatever...he screams "NO!!"...and we then start the count down. Now the boy waits until we say "three", but then he says "yep!" and happily goes off to do whatever was asked of him. It's a great little system, that until this morning, has worked everytime.

But now let me give you a little example of how it went this morning (all before 7am, of course!)

Mommy: "Owen, it's time to get dressed for school."

Owen: "No Mommy hessed...no cool...bye bye soon." (That would be "no dressed, and no school" for all you readers) ;-)

Mommy: "Owen, let's get dressed or we'll go to time out. One, get dressed or time out...two, get dressed or time out...three, dressed or time out?"

Owen: (No response...pause...) "Owie go out!" (He then walks over to the time out mat and sits down.) "Owie in out!"

Mommy (to Daddy): "Oh great. Well that worked well. Now what?"

I told Owen that he could sit in time out, but then he had to get dressed. He said no and yelled for "Owie in out"...that went back and forth for a minute but then we decided for him...it's time to get dressed. In the end, we picked him up and got him dressed tag-team wrestling style. And then he was fine. Off to "cool" he went.

I love my 2-year-old kid!