The Terrible Twos: Uncovering The Cause and Effect

It is hot in the sunshine state. So much so, most of my summer projects have been put on the back burner. Fortunately, I can work on organizing, and decluttering my tiny space.

While decluttering a few days ago, I ran across a folder during my college days. It contained several of my assignments/stories I’d written. I chuckled as I read some of the stories. However, it wasn’t so funny at the time when the Professor passed out the assignment.

When I enrolled in college, I had no idea how challenging it would be. I had two kids and a husband. I soon realized the laundry, dishes, errands, and cooking meals didn’t stop because I decided to go to school. Amazing discovery! I put myself in a precarious situation, and school added something else to my already full plate. What was I thinking?

BACK STORY

The assignment was to write about the different types/styles of paragraphs. The paragraphs were cause and effect, persuasion, definition, compare and contrast. The final instructions were to find articles that related to each type of writing. I think there were a total of seven articles that needed to completed.

The first few days after the assignment I was overwhelmed. However, once I put my thinking cap on and decided to write about things going on in my everyday life, the task was doable. Hence, the paragraph of The Terrible Twos was birthed.

I have three children. And they all have totally different personalities. So, today’s story is about the youngest of the bunch.

Garrett, whom we call Gee arrived on October 22, 1994. He weighed nine pounds. And if my memory serves me correctly, he was 27 or 28 inches long. He was so darn cute! Practically, he was very low maintenance. All he required was to nurse and a fresh diaper.

Well, after being on the planet for almost two years Gee started to change and the change was literally overnight. And let’s just say it wasn’t for the better. Read the story for yourself.

The Terrible Twos

What causes a child between the ages of eighteen months and two-and-a-half years old, to go through a period of kicking, crying, and trying to have their way? Most of us who have had kids and experienced it, know that It is called the “terrible twos.” I have a two-year-old son and the terrible twos must be a blood relative of his.

For example, a few days ago I sat and observed my two-year-old son Garrett; to see if I could come up with some kind of explanation concerning his behavior. This day was like any other. I did my regular routine of changing his diaper, brushing his teeth and getting him dressed.

Next, I fed him breakfast. He was fine until I said, “No Cartoon Network until you finish eating. Before I could get the words out, he was kicking and swinging his arms and legs like he had gone mad. I turned the T.V. on to see if his unruly behavior would continue. When the T.V. came on he was a completely different child. In this case Garrett wanted to have his way, and he thought he could get it by kicking and swinging his arms profusely.

Around two p.m. that afternoon I said, “Garrett it’s time to go nite, nite,” He immediately took off running in the opposite direction screaming “No,” to the top of his voice. I picked him up and carried him to the bed. He tried several times to get out; but each time I looked at him sternly and said, “No.” He kicked frantically. This went on for about ten minutes; finally he fell asleep shortly thereafter.

My last observation was when Garrett wanted something to drink, so I went to the refrigerator and poured him a cup of water. When I handed him the cup, he looked up at me with his big, brown, eyes as if to say, “This stuff is clear, I want the red stuff lady.” After that, he fell to the floor like a boxer in a slow motion replay moaning, and groaning.

I also observed that if I ignored Garrett while he was kicking and screaming on the floor, he would get up, and resume whatever it was that he was doing. But, if I addressed his behavior he would become worse.

I am longing for the day when “The Terrible Twos” will be over. Until then, Garrett will have to learn that he want be able to have his way all of the time.

Have you ever encountered “The Terrible Twos?” Please leave a comment, I would love to hear about it!

Chat Soon,

Zsa Zsa