your kid will have no memory of the good and the bed at that age. so don;t sweat it, don't spend money on big things and just wait until the first time you hear I hate you, you are wrong, I do know more than you, etc etc.......

We've all been there. Start fresh today.

I agree that 2.5 is a hard age, although it is also an adorable one. I had just spent an hour and a half playing with my son and wanted to check one email, but he kept climbing all over me and begging for you tube. I snapped at him and he burst into tears. The next day, I was checking email and he said, "I'm not going to climb all over you because I get in big trouble when I do that."

been there. soooo been there. i think we all have. 2.5 is by far my LEAST favorite age. i hate it even more than the sleep-deprived newborn stage, and that is saying a lot (to me at least). the only thing you can do is examine your actions and ask yourself how you could have done better, which you have clearly done. then make some extra-special time just for her, e.g. a trip to the ice cream store after dinner, etc. extra special loving goes a long way. nobody is perfect, and there are definitely times when we are not at our best, whether it's in parenting or any other aspect of your life, but if we didn't have hard times like that, we would never learn.

don't beat yourself up, OP. you sound like a great mom.

When you see your girl this evening, and she smiles and hugs and kisses you, you'll know it will be all right. They are resilient, these kids, and they forgive us faster than we forgive ourselves. Accept her forgiveness and just do better next time, which is all any of us can do.

Ugh. Same here. Our 2.5 year old daughter has been on the edge all week, and this weekend, she had a few meltdowns. To top it off, she skipped her nap yesterday. We didn't handle the meltdowns very well. We certainly weren't at our best, flip-flopping all over the place and probably confusing her and making the situation worse.

It just sucks.

My daughter is 3.5 and frankly she is just pretty well spoken and honestly, there are times I FORGET she is 3 and I argue with her as if she is an adult with the capacity to be unselfish, etc. And I get caught up in this cycle of arguing and reasoning with her and I'm like "WTF am I doing? She is THREE!"

So I hear you OP. Been there, this weekend and this morning!

Why have you not shared anecdotal information so that we could tell you we have done much, much worse?

Anonymous wrote:Thank you both, and yes, 11:09, we talked about it last night after our beautiful little girl went to bed. And we are both in agreement that we sucked major this weekend. There was no denying it and this will be a turning point for us. We both feel very bad.

Been there. What worked for me was really trying to remember how crap I felt after that the next time my patience was low. Helped reel me in.

Try to do something extra special for her today/tonight--maybe have a little dance party, or make something she really loves for dinner, or decorate her room with something fun to make her laugh. It will help you negate some of the ickiness you feel.

My son is the same age, and try as much as I might, I lose patience with him more often than I would like as well. The thing is, I don't see anything wrong with giving a consequence for a meltdown (such as no cookie if you have a tantrum during dinner) but getting mad at him back or raising my voice is unhelpful.

Thank you both, and yes, 11:09, we talked about it last night after our beautiful little girl went to bed. And we are both in agreement that we sucked major this weekend. There was no denying it and this will be a turning point for us. We both feel very bad.

there'll be days like this, there'll be days like this, my mama said


now, why do you think that song quotes "my mama said"

because we've all had days like this...

Anonymous wrote:Man, I really screwed up this weekend. Just failed my daughter miserably. She's 2.5, so yeah, she's TWO. I seemed to have forgotten that fact and just got so frustrated with her all weekend long. My DH did too, and we just suck. Now it's Monday and I want a re-do. I want a time machine to go back and let her be two and have her meltdowns without joining her and making it worse. I feel like such shit about it that I'm having a hard time concentrating at work. This sucks. I feel like such a crappy mom today...

I'm sorry you had a rough weekend and children can be really challenging at 2 1/2. And good for you for having remorse for not being the best parent you know you can be this weekend. But there's no need to beat yourself up about it further. Just resolve to do better and then do better. And since it sounds like your husband also contributed to leaving your daughter feeling less than supported this weekend, the two of you should probably talk about this to 1) make sure he feels the same and 2) to agree to support one another and take turns to have breaks when the challenging behavior is setting you both on edge. I'd hate for you OR you husband to fall into a pattern of short-fused responses, so better to know now if he agrees with your assessment of this past weekend or if he has no remorse. Best of luck.

You're not alone OP. For me, it was particularly this morning that I want to redo. It seems like at least once a week in the rush to get out of the house in the morning, I have a meltdown worse than my 2.5 yo's meltdown. I feel so terrible afterwards and realize that I am not modeling good behavior. This age is hard. We just have to keep trying to learn from our mistakes and try do better next time.

Man, I really screwed up this weekend. Just failed my daughter miserably. She's 2.5, so yeah, she's TWO. I seemed to have forgotten that fact and just got so frustrated with her all weekend long. My DH did too, and we just suck. Now it's Monday and I want a re-do. I want a time machine to go back and let her be two and have her meltdowns without joining her and making it worse. I feel like such shit about it that I'm having a hard time concentrating at work. This sucks. I feel like such a crappy mom today...