Home
Log in / Sign Up
    Private Messages   Rules   New User Guide   FAQ   Advertise   Contact Us  
Forum -> Parenting our children -> Toddlers
My 3 year old is a terror!
1  2  Next



Post new topic   Reply to topic View latest: 24h 48h 72h

amother
OP  


 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 8:36 pm
And I’m totally losing it. He’s almost 4. He literally rules our house and we all walk on eggshells around him. He doesn’t stay in bed, no matter how many times we walk him back to sleep. Bedtime can take up to two hours because of this and he’s exhausted. He gets up super early in the morning and wakes everyone up. He won’t listen to a word we say. He hits and spits and kicks when he’s upset which is any time he doesn’t get his way. He’s my eighth kid and I never dealt with this before. We are all going crazy. I’ve tried charts, consequences, ignoring. Nothing works. Please help me!!
Back to top

amother
Burntblack  


 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 8:38 pm
Sounds like my 2 year old, except that he doesn’t get out of bed cuz he can’t climb out of his crib.
Back to top

amother
Chestnut


 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 8:45 pm
Sounds like my toddler. But also, take a parenting course
Back to top

mathbrain  




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 8:56 pm
Probably good to have him evaluated if his behavior is like this across the board.

Talking from experience here. Bh, in the right school setting, my son is doing much better. Hopefully he’ll be able to go to a mainstream kindergarten next year.
Back to top

amother
Blue  


 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 9:12 pm
Sounds just like my 3 year old. I checked if I wrote this lol!
Back to top

amother
Stoneblue  


 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 9:21 pm
Evaluate him. It’s usually an early sign and the faster you start therapies the quicker you can get your house back to normal.
Back to top

amother
Maroon


 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 9:22 pm
amother Stoneblue wrote:
Evaluate him. It’s usually an early sign and the faster you start therapies the quicker you can get your house back to normal.


An early sign of what?
Back to top

amother
Hunter  


 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 9:22 pm
amother Blue wrote:
Sounds just like my 3 year old. I checked if I wrote this lol!


Lol same. I could've written the op word for word. Accept bed time takes way longer than 2 hours Twisted Evil

Terrible 3's at its finest.
Back to top

giftedmom




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 9:25 pm
Get him evaluated and tested for strept
Back to top

amother
  Hunter  


 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 9:25 pm
amother Stoneblue wrote:
Evaluate him. It’s usually an early sign and the faster you start therapies the quicker you can get your house back to normal.


There's a reason they don't diagnos autism before 5. It's common for 3yo's to act like that, to a point of course.

Signed, a mom with older kids with autism, ADHD, & typical kids bh.
Back to top

amother
  Stoneblue


 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 9:27 pm
amother Maroon wrote:
An early sign of what?


A few things. Any extreme behavior should be evaluated. And no it’s very much not typical terrible threes. Sleep issues usually indicate something bigger.

I lost count of how many people I know had such issues with their kids and years later finally evaluated and got answers. It was years of stress for no reason.
Back to top

amother
Eggplant


 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 9:27 pm
amother Hunter wrote:
There's a reason they don't diagnos autism before 5. It's common for 3yo's to act like that, to a point of course.

Signed, a mom with older kids with autism, ADHD, & typical kids bh.


Asd is definitely diagnosed before age 5!
Op your son might have adhd
Back to top

amother
Lotus


 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 9:28 pm
Sounds typical to me and I have 5. Give melatonin. Take better care of yourself. Learn techniques to deal with his daytime behavior. Go to bed early so it doesn’t bother you to wake up early.
Back to top

mom!  




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 9:34 pm
lol another omg is this me and my son.

Except that son is now 5. And bH slowly things did improve. He definitely is a challenge but at this point I do feel within the range of normal.

You have all my sympathies! Best of luck!
Back to top

amother
  OP  


 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 9:45 pm
Ok I was not expecting those responses!! I definitely feel it is within the realm of “normal” and not a sign of anything, I just need help dealing with it. He was an amazing sleeper until he leaned how to climb out of his crib and given his age we put him into a bed. That is when the bedtime issues started. He has freedom suddenly!
The hitting and kicking and spitting I feel is also relatively normal and age appropriate. Doesn’t mean I’m managing or handling it well because I’m not!
Back to top

amother
  Burntblack


 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 11:09 pm
amother Lotus wrote:
Sounds typical to me and I have 5. Give melatonin. Take better care of yourself. Learn techniques to deal with his daytime behavior. Go to bed early so it doesn’t bother you to wake up early.

Melatonin doesn’t work for all kids, and sometimes it even backfires and makes them more wired than they were before.
Back to top

CPenzias




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 11:14 pm
I would say he needs a lot of consistency. A specific punishment for when he does that behavior. (Find something he'll hate for you to do- maybe time out for 3 minutes) every time he spits. Remind him to use a safe body/ nice body. Whatever the words are that you want to say but everyone should use the same words. (I'm a special education ASD kindergarten teacher) it's not easy. He needs consistency. Someone on top of him all the time so he knows he can't get away with it.
Maybe a social story or 2 so he can see how his behavior affects others. Read the story with him when he's calm.
I hope this stage passes quickly. It sounds really challenging
Back to top

  mom!




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 11:25 pm
amother OP wrote:
Ok I was not expecting those responses!! I definitely feel it is within the realm of “normal” and not a sign of anything, I just need help dealing with it. He was an amazing sleeper until he leaned how to climb out of his crib and given his age we put him into a bed. That is when the bedtime issues started. He has freedom suddenly!
The hitting and kicking and spitting I feel is also relatively normal and age appropriate. Doesn’t mean I’m managing or handling it well because I’m not!


Regarding the sleeping, here is what I learnt from my mistakes.
Firstly, bedtime should include listening to cds lots of books etc. do not sit with him for hours on end trying to get him to sleep. Loosing battle that will only become a bigger power struggle than what you are currently facing.
Second, mornings need to be restructured that you don’t fall apart. Child proof your main floor (or playroom) VERY WELL. Once he wakes up he needs to go down otherwise the entire family will suffer. You can prepare things the night before like a coloring book or puzzles or anything else that may work. Remain firm about not staying/ coming upstairs barring emergencies obviously
Back to top

amother
Buttercup


 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 11:31 pm
Do blood work. Low iron can lead to sleep issues
Back to top

amother
Magenta


 

Post Sat, Nov 02 2024, 11:31 pm
I know it's not your first but I want to also recommend getting a parenting coach.

My third was vastly different temperamentally than my first two, and I made a lot of serious mistakes because I just kept trying the same techniques that had worked with my other ones. Had I learned to work with that child's specific personality earlier I'd have saved myself (and them) a lot of grief.

(I had some other kids who were that type later, and it was much easier to deal with them once I already had learned the hard way.)
Back to top
Page 1 of 2 1  2  Next Recent Topics




Post new topic   Reply to topic    Forum -> Parenting our children -> Toddlers

Related Topics Replies Last Post
My 1-year-old doesn't leave me alone
by amother
35 Today at 2:54 am View last post
5 year old testing boundaries 4 Today at 12:58 am View last post
Help getting Three year old to wear eye patch
by amother
9 Yesterday at 1:27 pm View last post
Gift for one year old
by amother
8 Yesterday at 8:24 am View last post
Iso personal experience, under 1 year old napping info
by amother
1 Tue, Dec 03 2024, 7:21 pm View last post