I honestly thought that Steve and I would never have one of "those" children. You all know what I'm talking about. You're casually shopping at Target and you see this child kicking, screaming, and flailing their arms around because he didn't get want he wanted. Then you look over at the parents who are obviously humiliated and trying everything they can - often times including bribery - to calm their child down.
Welcome to our world. Our sweet, precious little girl is now one of "those" children who have meltdowns and temper tantrums at the drop of a hat when she doesn't get what she wants. Seriously, Steve and I weren't going to have one of those children. Amaya was going to be a perfect little angel sitting quietly in the grocery cart and when walking down the candy aisle, she would say, "No Mommy, I don't want any candy. I'd like to have some carrot sticks when we get home." And of course, she would eat those carrot sticks after washing her hands and all the while saying please and thank you. Good grief... What planet were we living on?
We've been trying to find a healthy balance between sticking to the rules and discipline while at the same time allowing her to express her frustrations, etc. For the most part, we ignore her temper tantrums and when she's calmed herself down acknowledge her feelings and TRY to redirect her. She's only had one major meltdown today - after I told her that we don't put toys in the potty... that was fun... So, is this the beginning of the "terrible twos" or does it get worse?