Patience with toddlers

Hey guys.. my son will be 3 in a few weeks and when he is in a good mood, he's funny and polite..plays well, listens to instructions etc.. but when he's in a bad mood.. wow. He's talking back, not listening and it's like he already knows how to push my buttons. Ugh! I know this is the age he's at.. but I'm having trouble keeping my anger in check when dealing with him. How do you all handle the tantrums and moodiness? My son is very strong willed and can be stubborn!

Getting angry and yelling is counter productive, I know that, and generally I can keep it together... but sometimes.. I just lose it.

I also have a 10 month old...and he requires my attention as well..


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We are having a lot of the same issues with my daughter and read this book and it really helped me with my technique and not going through the 'dance' as he called it in the book. He also mentions if you are about to lose it to get the LO in a safe area and then cool off yourself somewhere else for a few minutes if needed. Good luck, it is a struggle for sure!


Thanks for your suggestion! I'll take a look!



Sounds just like my daughter. She has me at my wits ends sometimes and then she can be a sweetheart. I'll be checking out that link the pp posted.

I've a 2 week old and the acting out started before he arrived so it's not because of him. But between the sleep deprivation and her tantrums sometimes I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.


Following for sure!

Make sure you do all you can to avoid it. (Nap if they still need one, snacks, etc.. understand at the root they are trying to communicate something. Try to see their perspective. But sometimes you know they r just acting out.

Things I do with my rambunctious toddler are counting and taking big breaths. I let him know it's ok to be upset or emotional about something but it'll be alright and after I count we r gunna wipe away the crying and take 5 big breaths. Also, I recently explained to him an easy and a hard way to do things. He already knows consequences (toys taken away, time out, pinches, etc). "When you give mommy a hard time you get consequences". I've learned if he knows these things ahead of time it's easier to remind him when he's getting out of hand... Sometimes! Lol! So if u want the hard way, those consequences will happen and then u cry and mommy will tell you it's time for (this) and than you finally listen. Or you could just listen to me now and I give u a high five and a big kiss for being a good listener.

If we r home and he is acting out, i make it a learning experience and try to nip it in the butt. I might be more "aggressive" so he knows this won't fly no matter where we are.

Finally, to end my super long post: I read a FB post that basically said even on a bad day of yelling at your kids and feeling like a horrible mom, it's better than being a silent mom. Not all days will be like these "terrible twos". Hopefully! But I always need new ideas to teach him. Following!


Thx for responding..yes we definitely have consequences for poor behaviour. If he has a tantrum that I can't ignore..(I try not to give tantrums the attention he wants) then he's put in a time out spot until he cools down.

I'm fortunate in that when he acts out, we are at home. We very rarely have an incident in public.

We do take away toys etc.

Right now, it's the "no's"...he feels like he should have control. I try as much as I can to give him options to make him feel like he has some control.

I think it's one of those phases that will pass as long as my husband and I are consistent!


Yes! Consistency pays off. One day this age (and phase) will be behind us


I hope I am misunderstanding but it sounds like you are saying that when your 3yo gives you a hard time you pinch him.

If that's not what you meant then phew!

If that is what you meant then please stop

- it is not ok to punish a child by pinching them. I don't know where you live but that is actually illegal in a lot of countries and even if it's legal where you are it's still a horrible thing to do.


I lose my *** too momma! Your just a mom doing the best you can! When you find the secret, share it haha


This is exactly me! Not much advice to give you here as I’m going through the same thing. My son will be 5 in a few weeks and we have a 2 month old. He’s great with the baby, but boy does he have an attitude and can be disrespectful towards my husband and I. When he does something wrong, we calmly correct him and he gets upset and starts to tantrum and talk bad. So frustrating. My husband doesn’t have patience for it and they just go back and forth, while I on the other hand sometimes ignore the behavior or give him a directive like “go to your room”.

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