Over the last couple of weeks, Noah has demonstrated to us that he is definitely a toddler. He's no longer the happy go lucky little guy who enjoys everything you put in front of him. Now he has opinions and he makes sure that we are aware of them. Lately he's taken to demonstrating his opinions by screaming and crying. We try with all our might to ignore the bad behavior so that we don't perpetuate it, but at times this can be quite difficult. Take the drive home from work/daycare today for instance... Noah was happy for the first 5 minutes peering out the window. I was thankful for these five minutes because the entire remaining trip home was filled with Noah screaming at the top of his lungs as he no longer wanted to be stuck in his car seat. No it wasn't pinching him. He didn't have a dirty diaper. He had recently had a snack so he wasn't hungry. He was a bit tired, but definitely was not willing to take a short snooze in the car. No, he just decided he was going to cry us home. I've now taken to telling Noah that his behavior is not acceptable and turning the radio up to (hopefully) help me focus on something else so I'm not ready to leave him on the curb when I arrive home each day. Today unfortunately, I had to leave him in the car for Eric to retrieve because I just couldn't stand to listen to the screaming anymore. It's not an incredibly long trip home, but it can feel like an eternity when there's a screaming toddler in the back seat.
Noah has also decided that making dinner is not an acceptable activity for his mother. Each night, while I'm preparing dinner Noah will stand or sit in the middle of the kitchen floor crying because I'm not paying enough attention to him. Sometimes Eric can distract him. Other times we just have to let him cry. I hope this phase is short.
If anyone has any ideas of how we can shorten the screaming phase, we're all ears!!! I'm particularly looking for ideas to deal with him in the car. As a last resort, I may have to order noise canceling earphones (like the ones you see in airplane catalogues) and wear them home from work everyday.
2 comments:
Julia does all that too. Sits in the kitchen, doesn't want me too cook either. Walks over to me and trys to climb on me whining and complaining that mommy isn't paying attention to her. We are getting a dvd player for the car for the long tips, but the shorter ones she can tolerate.
That hour before dinner has been dubbed "Arsenic Hour" by many parents and childcare givers. Blood sugar levels are low and behavior disintegrates. I spent years raising young children, mine and my daycare kids, and was always amazed at how sweet a child could be after lunch/dinner and how incredibly rotten the same child could act the hour before eating. It's tempting to "spoil" their dinner and feed them snacks (not a good idea). I've heard some husbands are that way, too. But not Eric!
Grandma Barb
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