Turning two!

I always thought too much of noise was made out of kids turning two. Remember how people raise their eyebrows with an all knowing sympathetic nod when you tell them your toddler's age?! Well, the phrase 'terrible twos and threes' does start at two.

When my baby turned two, nothing happened! He still was his usual shy and soft-spoken who would not be more than couple of feet away wherever we went. Shopping was heaven! Days passed and I almost started telling everyone about the myth of terrible twos. And then a month or so later, our sweet, adorable son threw a huge tantrum for no apparent reason. Ofcourse, it wasn't terrible or anything but nonetheless out of routine and a surprise to us. That day we were busy learning the next steps of discipline - being calm and firm at the same time.

My husband and I got to talking about this episode a couple of days later and thoughtfully agreed that we may have gotten a peak at the terrible twos. Parents regard their little one’s first birthday as a favorable milestone but tend to treat their turning two with negativism. But when you look at it from the other side of the fence, it doesn't take long to realize how absolutely amazing these kids in their terrible twos and threes are! It is incredible to see how quickly they pick up things and soak in everything they see like a sponge. And their energy?! We all wonder how and where they manage to gather so much energy from the morsels of food they eat! But then they are two :-) Guess it is this lethal combination of the immense energy and the ability to absorb what they see, makes things a little harder to manage.

Also, us parents have the tendency of attributing the good things our kids do to the family whereas all the misdeeds to their school and friends. I remember how we instantly blamed the school after our son's first major tantrum that he was learning from looking at other kids doing it. And it is probably true to an extent. The challenge is to try and get our kids to be better and better while they still experience the situations and surroundings. And I'm sure this a test we have to take everyday for a long time to come.. So, best of luck parents!