Parenting Toddlers 101: The Terrible Twos

So, your sweet little baby is getting ready to become a toddler. You’ve heard about the “terrible twos” and “troublesome threes.” This won’t happen to your darling baby, of course, but it never hurts to be prepared. You and your partner can prepare for this special time in parenting with a simple, free course I like to call “Parenting Toddlers 101: The Terrible Twos.” Simply print out this list when your child is between 10 and 15 months and implement these 15 toddler traits into your daily life.

By the time your little bundle of joy actually enters the terrible twos, you’ll be practically immune to mind-numbing repetition, irrational demands, unnecessary messes, and negotiating the insignificant. This will free you up to appreciate delightful toddling, new discoveries, adorable firsts, mispronounced words, spontaneous hugs, and incomparable toddler giggles.

Parenting Toddlers 101: Preparation

15 Toddler Traits to Try on Your Partner Before Your Baby Turns 2

1. Begin calling down up and up down.
2. Say “no” when you mean “yes” and also when you mean “no.”
3. Insist on doing everything yourself, even if it takes ten extra minutes.
4. Implement “pants optional” days.
5. Dump everything – and I mean everything – out before beginning any project or activity.
6. Insist on wearing rain boots or slippers, no matter the weather.
7. Ask for food, then throw it on the ground in outrage. Crumbling it into tiny, impossible to clean up pieces is also acceptable.
8. Repeat “Mom” or “Dad” over and over. When your partner says “Yes?,” repeat it more emphatically.
9. Cry when you’re happy or sad. Or just because.
10. Insist that everything is “mine” – including things that belong to others.
11. Begin a steady diet of applesauce, cheese sticks, and fruit snacks.
12. When you eat, get more food on your shirt than in your mouth.
13. Poop one minute before you can leave and still make it on time. No rush.
14. Watch the same show repeatedly. It’s better if everyone sings, but no one sings well.
15. Demand baths, but cry about getting clean every time.

Be sure to keep a look out Parenting Toddlers 102: Crying Over Spilt Milk and Why it’s all Your Fault.