Terrible Twos!

I think the terrible twos have arrived in the Millner household. Joshua has had brief periods of testing boundaries over the past 9 months or so. He'll have a day or two where he tests limits and pushes buttons but it never lasts for long and he is back to his amiable, fun little self. Today, his evil twin surfaced! I walked in to the playroom at his preschool to pick him up and he threw his first all out tantrum. I guess his turn to drive the little car around the room was next and he was expressing his frustration.... He ran across the room screaming like a banshee, hit the wall with both hands and proceeded to throw himself on the floor. All this if front of all the other moms that were picking up their angelic faced children who stared wide eyed at the screaming blondie on the floor. I wanted to sink into the foundation! I managed to haul him off the floor, throw him over my shoulder and retreat outside with a land speed record. All of this on top of his teacher telling me this morning that he has been pushing kids and grunting in defiance. I feel like the worst parent of the year!

We have always used time out for Joshua and very rarely a spanking for discipline. Neither of these seem to have any impact on him what so ever. I have no idea what we are going to do. His reasoning ability is very limited at this point...he is 2 after all. I have started taking away certain privelages and that seems to work sometimes but not consistantly. This evening I think he spent a grand total of 30 minutes in his naughty corner. By bed time he seemed back to normal. I can only hope it holds.... In the meantime perhaps we should stock up on more chocolate and red wine!