I’ve noticed a shift lately in my toddler. She is a 22 month old who can be sweet as can be one second, and then on the floor flailing around crying the next. Normally these are known as the Terrible Twos, but according to The Danish Way of Parenting, this is simply a Boundary Stage. They are not being terrible toddlers, but are simply testing boundaries. Sometimes they have to test a boundary multiple times to get a feel for where it is.
This could explain why she looks at me, smiles, and proceeds to do that thing I told her not to do, and then gets mad when I scold her yet again. It is also why, when she wants to go outside and blow bubbles when it’s bedtime, and I insist on taking her to bed instead, that she loses it.
The whole point of calling it boundary testing takes away the label from your child, and consequently, from you. No, you are not a terrible parent because your child is wailing in the grocery check out line. You are a good parent for enforcing boundaries.
I have been a good parent today at enforcing the boundaries of no tablets. I was such a good parent, that she wailed halfway to daycare, but then, a miracle occurred. She picked up the Dr. Seuss book I had stuck in the backseat (that earlier she unceremoniously *threw* out of her sight) and started “reading” it. She was even talking to herself a bit and was in a good mood by the time we got to daycare.
Every once in a while I get a parenting win…
Life Hangs in the Balance 