Living the Terrible Two's

"It is the best of times, it is the worst of times." This is what one parenting book says about toddlerhood and I must say that I feel that this is a very apt description of this phase of life.

I had heard about the "terrible two's" from my dad a long time back when my sister was around two but nothing prepared me for what I faced with Zunairah. It seemed that almost overnight my daughter had turned from an angel to a mutinous little person. Everything that my hubby or I say is met with an emphatic "no". Because of this trait of hers we are sometimes tempted to use reverse psychology and it does work.....for example on weekends when I want my hubby to take her out for swimming I'll say,"Today I will take you for swimming" and she will promptly respond by saying, "No, no....today "baba" will take me.".

Mealtimes and bedtimes are ofcourse times of intense emotional upheavals for my tot. Previously I used to be really flustered about my daughter not eating properly. Now I offer her a variety of nutritious food and I have come to accept the fact that Zunairah will not always be hungry enough to "clean the plate". Thanks to books on toddler nutrition ,I now know that children do not suffer from malnutrition that easily.

I did not know that toddlers can be as fussy with clothes as teenagers. My daughter practically brings her wardrobe upside down atleast twice a day all because she often cannot decide what to wear. She is nowadays rejecting "girlish dresses" such as frocks and skirts. I am now left with atleast a dozen of newly stitched beautiful dresses and I don't know what to do with them! Often after a lot of fussing my tot will decide to wear whatever her little brother is wearing and she will persuade us to take off his clothes and put it on her.

My toddler is a major "drama queen" and she will throw a huge tantrum over seemingly unimportant issues. She will sometimes shriek and scream ever over something as minor as a slightly tight shoelace. I also face the proverbial "supermarket tantrums" and it is very tricky to deal with them now that my tot understands the concept of buying things from the shop.......

Yes, toddlerhood can be challenging but it is also a time of excitement for parents. A toddler is a boundless source of energy and his zest for life is infectious. A few days ago Zunairah was nagging for an icecream and so I bought her a cone icecream. As the icecream on top of the cone started melting in little rivulets my tot became very excited and made silly faces and started licking the cone very furiously.......Only a toddler can be so happy over something as mundane as an icecream.....It really made my day! My hubby and I also love her pronunciation such as "attim" (icecream) and "tottape" (scotch tape). I will miss them for sure when she starts speaking like an adult.

These toddler years are over all too quickly and I am going to miss them when my tot grows up. Also, now I am the centre of her universe but that will no longer be the case a few years down the line. I am going to miss that, too......