Thursday, March 15, 2012

Time to Supernanny Up

Sometimes I feel like a terrible mother.

My boys, ages 5 and 2, have very different personalities. R, the 5 year old, is sensitive and sweet. D, the 2 year old, is . . . well, I call him the beast (and I say that with love). I realize he's dead-smack in the throws of the terrible 2's, but he's unbearable at times. Yesterday was one such time.

After picking up R from school, we stopped by the playground because it was 70 degrees in March in New Jersey. That's a good enough reason for just about anything.

When I was ready to leave, D did the screaming bloody murder thing that most children his age do when you're trying to get them to leave someplace they're not quite ready to leave. This I'm used to since big brother, R, used to do the same thing at this age.

What I wasn't quite prepared for was the fit of rage my 2 year old expressed once I strapped him in his car seat. There was high-pitched screeching, some not-so-nice language, and hitting. Excuse me?!?

Apparently my 2 year old is a hitter. I've witnessed some hitting between brothers and, honestly, find that normal behavior. But hitting me? Unacceptable.

In an effort to nip this nightmare in the bud, I supernannied-up and kept putting him in time out until he broke down and said he was sorry. This time-out battle, which lasted 20 minutes but would only had to have lasted 2 minutes had he just stayed there, unveiled this anger and fury that I never saw before and, quite honestly, rattled me.

How did I produce this little monster? Where did I go wrong? How can I have one sweet, caring boy and one raging, hitting bully? Bad mother vibes reared their ugly heads. I'm hoping to keep it under control and alter this bad behavior now . . . before I actually do call in Supernanny.

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