OT Parenting Advice

ok ladies this has nothing to do with weight, but OT, how long do the terrible twos last?!?! my 15 month old angel has become a 15 month old maniac! he stopped sleeping through the night i wake up to him screaming bloody murder, although im passing this off as teething (he just got his top two molars last week and i think more are coming in) but i dont know if its crankiness from everything or terrible twos setting in but this child is CRAZY!!!!! when he plays with other kids he's normally really good, minus the random ripping toys out of their hands... ug, and adults think he's the best behaved kid ever. and day care loves him! but get him home, and he's throwing things and attacking the cat (who takes it) we he knows its not ok, he knows because we tell him sternly "no" or put him in time out and he has started coming back at us saying "no dada" or "no mama". is this normal? i just need some mommy advice on maybe how you ladies handled this if your kids became maniacs like mine! haha.

Well, I'm not sure I'll be much help but I am here to listen if you need it.   Generally my 2 yr old is very laid back and even tempered.   We haven't hit a "terrible two" stage yet.  I do have 2 older kids but they are 19 and 16 and I am having a hard time remembering what it was like at that age with them.    I do know that it's pretty normal for kids to go through what you're talking about.   I'm sure the teething can't be helping him any that's for sure.  One big thing is no matter what be consistent with him...even if it feels like all you're saying for a while is no.   Consistency is very very important with kids otherwise we end up confusing them and making things worse.  They're always angels for other people aren't they??   We actually talked about this at a family education class recently.   Kids save all of their "bad" behaviors for the people they feel safest with.   Just like adults do as well.   We all probably say things to our significant others that we'd never dream of saying to someone else.  We yell, cry, scream, vent to them...there's no way we'd act like that to a complete stranger.   It's the same with kids....if they go to daycare they've had a very long day and are probably tired.   They let their guard down and we're the ones there to get the brunt of it.   Hang in there...it does get better honestly.   We're here to try to help and support each other so feel free to join us.   No question is a dumb question.

I don't really have experience with little ones as my stepdaughters were already preteens when I joined their life but I see things with my neices and nephews.  My 2 year old neice can be crazy and demanding.  She tells her parents no & back talks.  She gets the timeouts & stuff too.  I am sure being consitent is a major part of it.  The teeth issue may be a big part of it.  Since he is waking up in the night perhaps it is bad dreams?  Just keep plugging through.

I ditto Michelle with the CONSISTENCY.............  That is KEY!!!!!!
I have a 2 year old.... and he is generally weel behaved, but he definately makes me crazy sometimes as well.  Then when he is trying our patience, he will go to time-out, and if he re-offends, it is a spank on the butt, and Nose-In-The-Corner.  Just to re-affirm, that the "PARENTS" are the parents.  Period.  We do not like being told no.

I am not sure about the waking in the night, for your son, with the screaming, but I know that Hunter has been waking through the night for several months, off & on.  He will do a few things... either try & sneak up in bed with us, sleep near the bed on the floor (and we won't catch this one until we wake up, cause he is quiet!!) or he will wake up (not too often, but it does happen) crying, and then we just take him back to bed, and put him back to sleep, saying little to calm him down, but to reassure him, that we are there, and to not be scared.  Saying "it is stil night-time, momma & daddy are still sleeping, go back to night-night"
My daycare lady says her kids were the same way, thay need comfort & go through stages.  But to keep consistent.

-Jamie