I thought it was supposed to get easier as they get older?!?

[Fuschia]

Thing is, trying to use brute force doesn't save time in the end really.

I get so impatient sometimes when my little one is insisting on using my keys to open my car door himself, but wrestling them out of his hand and trying to bundle him into his car seat just ends up taking longer. Needs must sometimes, but I do try just to take a deep breath and go at toddler pace if I can

[mrs f]

SB, we currently lurch from one tantrum to the next, no nappy change, no clothes, no downstairs, no breakfast, no shoes, no coat, no jumper, no outside, no car, then it's repeat when we leave anywhere, begging to stay. And the kid who used to ask for a nap now has a melt down at the mention of one... although he did this before, the arrival of his little sis three weeks ago has heightened the emotions for sure... Can't wait for this phase to be over!

[Otta]

I thought it was supposed to get easier as they get older?!?

Posted by snowboarder April 09, 07:49PM

7:49 and you'd FINISHED putting them to bed, and this was cause for complaint?

You don't know you were born!!!

[snowboarder]

Yeah, i know, but it's all relative, right? And it had taken nearly an hour and a half from start to finish, and I mostly do this solo...

Better today (the bath/bed bit) - it definitely makes a difference if I've been at work or not. Non work day = calmer children and earlier start for the whole shenanigins.

[Pickle]

I guess on work days they're excited to see you when you get in? Can you re-jig the routine on those days? Even though you're tired, resign yourself to the fact they want some time with Mummy, sit and read some books or something before you start bath/bedtime? xx

[Belle]

weirdly I find mine easier on work days mainly because I'm fresher (to t hem anyway) so a bit more patient, whereas days when I'm with them both all day I'm more prone to snap during bath/bedtime. Or they are!

We do later bedtime on days I work, didn't plan it but it was just impossible to get them down by 7 plus they were excited to see me as Pickle suggests. The 4 year old does get out of bed several times if he goes to bed too early, and in fact we do a slightly later bedtime for him than the 18mth old anyway. But I agree 2ish is tantrum city (well in our case 18 mths....)

[canela]

All days are work days for me, and I always do the bedtime routine as soon as I get in. If I've had a trying day it can be hard to shake that off, but I find that a small glass of wine/cup of tea (depending on day...) as soon as I get in the door makes it a whole lot easier! It's that old parenting classic again - if you are in a good mood your kids are more likely to be in one too.

[Otta]

Our younger one (only 21 months) has been a nightmare since the clocks changed. She's still full of beans at 10pm, the little cow!

[canela]

yes but if they go to bed later they wake up later! i much prefer summer time timings. chill evenings as no rush to get them in bed, we go to bed later anyhow, and no 5am starts!

[Otta]

Nope, she's still up by 5 - 6. Older girl not so bad, but the little one seems to have limitless energy, and even a 10 minute power nap in the day can mean another couple of hours before she'll sleep at night.

[Strawbs]

I keep waiting for it to get a little easier too! My 17m has been tantruming severely since he was 13m old and his chosen route of venting his frustration is smashing his face on the floor whether it be carpet, concrete, pavers, literally whatever he can get to, he even moves pillows out of the way that the nursery put around him when he is doing it to get to the wooden floor. ~Both at nursery and at home now we put him in his cot with some cushions (supervised) so he can thrash out his anger safely as Im (and the nursery) are very concerned he is going to hurt himself. He has a really bad temper but I am hoping that once he can talk his frustration levels wont be so high but I do worry he will just tell me he hates me when he doesnt get his own way! He is so active and literally runs from sun up to sun down so in a month when he is old enough (to be insured) we are starting baby soccer and rugby to try and run off his energy as currently parks dont really cut it!

Thankfully getting him to bed is a breeze as he is exhausted from nursery but wakes up a few times a night, I now dont get up to him, I just let him cry it out for 10 minutes and then he puts himself back to sleep.

I keep telling myself when he is communicating thing will calm down!

x