Is your toddler difficult to discipline? Is he arguing and mad about anything? Don’t worry it's just a phase...

My daughter will turn 2 shortly and she’s showing her personality. Every action leads to a negotiation, from sitting on the table to changing the diaper.

Today she refused to change her diaper, so I had to make her choose between that and the bed. It worked and it was really funny.

I've read earlier this week an article about the toddlers' behavior from the age of 18 months to 3 years.

The author, a pedo-psychiatrist, said that at this age they become conscious of their environment and they would like to make themselves a place.

So, don't be mad if your kid is not listening to you. Even if he says some words that might heart your feelings, he really doesn't mean it, it's just a phase.

Here are tips on how to deal with this temper that I tried and worked for me:


1. Be aware that your baby is not mean to you, he just doesn't know how to express himself properly.

2. Without ignoring his crises, don't overreact (don’t laugh, don't put him down or be mad).

3. Don't isolate the child or punish him.

4. Don't give him what he wants; otherwise he will feel that what he did is working.

5. After the crises, hold him and tell him how much you love him. You will just make him realize that his behavior didn’t help him geting what he wants.

6. Avoid confrontation or turning him off systematically. Negotiate with him and give him choices or conditions. This helps developing his autonomy.

We’re in the potty training phase with our daughter. It is complicated just because of the natural resistance of this age.

At the very beginning, we tried rewording with stickers; it worked for a while and then stopped. We tried to push her and, she just rejected it completely.

Most recently we made the potty, a fun moment. Each time she goes to the potty, we read her one of  Dora's books.

We're not there yet, but it seems like working.
I think that the most important is to understand that your baby loves you and doesn’t mean to challenge your authority. It is about him and not about you. At his age his vocabulary is not developed enough to express himself properly. So be calm and help him understand what he needs to do to get what he wants. I believe that if you succeed, you will be raising a fantastic kid.