Toddlers, They Change Like the Wind

Everyone says it, toddlers moods can turn on a dime, with the wind, by the minute, no matter how you want to put it, a toddlers crazy tornado of emotions, are a very real thing.

We have two small kids Ellie (3.5) and Hudson (1), they are both sweet in nature, loving and love to smile. This lovely dispensation is what helps us forget the times of shear madness that ensues at a moments notice – typically caused by something completely ridiculous!

Things started off great this morning, I worked out at 5am, had a cup of coffee, watched the news and was in a generally relaxed mood. At 6:45am, our typical argument with Ellie occurred while trying to get both kids ready for school and out the door by 7:30am – we have 45 minutes and counting to get them fed and out the door. Challenge Accepted!

I get out clothes for our darling angel, only to have her yell that she would like pink shorts and a purple t-shirt. Outfit I had chosen for her was teal shorts with matching… let’s call it a blouse. This was not up to Queen-bee’s standards, so much so, that she refused to get dressed yelling and screaming. For good measure, she also reminded me to stop buying her dresses and to tell her Meme (my mom and her grandmother) the same.

Sometimes this happens because we give a cup with a lid, or without lid, drink with ice or without, or for Ellie, a restaurant with no shrimp cocktail on the menu.

This is an example of a typical change in attitude, our little guy doesn’t really know this difference yet, being about 14 months old. His biggest worry is when his Facetime spotlight is taken up by his sister.

What do we know about these little toddlers moods? Well they have difficulty expressing emotion, they get frustrated and aren’t sure how to communicate this. I found a great piece on Parents.com that explains this a little more.

So as parents how do we navigate all of this? Honestly, I don’t think there are any right or wrong answers here, the real truth is that we all do our best  to be patient. These days may seem long to us, but we know the years will go by quickly. We will be onto the next phase before we know it, and these moments will be memories that we cherish.

So what is my plan for all of this? Well that changes like the wind as well, I’ll try all of the tactics that are out there, but at the end of the day I’m going to love them both really hard and above all practice patience in the hope that it will give way to them having patience one day. Give them an extra kiss or hug, have tickle fight and make as many memories as possible.

Leave your tips and/or experiences in the comments below – I would love to hear them! After all, parenthood is a journey and as the saying goes, sometimes it takes a village. ; )