Toddler Torture

I wanted to share this perfect example of my life with a 2.5 year old son. No matter how much patience you have, sometimes it just doesn't matter....

Toddler Group was coming to an end on Tuesday morning of this week. And like every week at the end of Toddler Group, Teacher Kris gives the kids a hand stamp. They get them on each hand and even on their belly if they want. It's quite the hit with Shane and he loves showing Daddy what kind of stamp he got when Daddy gets home from work.

As class ended, Shane took off to play in the car area, without stopping to get his stamp. After gathering our things, I reminded him that he needed to get his stamp from Teacher Kris now or he wouldn't get one. Right after that Teacher Kris asked for any kids that hadn't received their stamp to come and get one. I asked Shane if he wanted a stamp today. He said "No". I instantly thought this isn't going to end good. But was going to stick with what he wanted, no matter what I thought he was going to want later on. I got down and explained to Shane one last time, if we left school we won't be able to come back and get a stamp. Again he told me he didn't want one. As we headed out the door, Teacher Kris asked if he wanted one. The answer was "No". I quickly again mentioned we wouldn't be coming back to get one after we walked out the door. He was okay with that.

We got settled into the car. Shane had his blanket, snack, toys, etc and seemed happy as a clam. As I turned around to back up the car, Shane looks at me with a smirk on his face and points to his hand. I instantly knew what he wanted, and clarified to him that he chose to not get one today. At that point he lost it, a full on tantrum! When I said we weren't going back he escalated he tantrum to out of control. As I continued to stick to my guns and attempt to explain to him that he made the choice to not get a stamp today and that next week he could choose to have one, he continued to scream and cry.

By the time we got home, he was somewhat settled down, but continued to point to his hand and ask for a stamp. Which would start the tantrum all over again, when I said he couldn't have one now. When Daddy got home that night, he had no stamp to show off and in his Shane way explained to Kenny what had happened. By that point he seemed to be able to tell Kenny about it without losing his mind and even told him he didn't want one next week either. I can't wait to see how that goes.

Man, Oh, Man! On a daily basis I feel like I can't win with that kid. No matter how much patience I give him or have, or no matter how clearly I lay out the expectations or follow through on things, I seem to lose every time. I know this is just a "phase", but I can't wait to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Because the "terrible twos" may just kill me off!