3 Year Olds

[bright_eyes]

I've read quite a number of times in various threads in this forum that 3 is a really challenging age. I never paid much attention to these threads because, I didn't have a 3 year old.

Well ds will be 3 this month and boy is becoming so much more challenging!!!! He is so much more grumpy, less cuddly, more defiant, arugmentative, ect. He wants to do EVERYTHING on his own, to the point that it gets really frustrating because if he do something without even thinking about it (like turning the bathroom light on for him), he freaks out 1/2 the time. Or he'll be too tired/impatient to do something but will freak out if you help in in the slightest. He negates everything you tell him. If he asks where Daddy is and you tell him he's at work, he'll argue you it (No, he's not at work). And he does this with EVERYTHING you tell him, it seems. He rarely wants to do what he's asked, and it can be quite the task to think of a way to get him to do something, if it really needs to be done.

Is this all normal for 3????

Please tell me some of your best tips for dealing with 3 year olds!!! What is it that makes them so challenging (where did my sweet little boy go????)? How long does this challenging stage last? The whole year?

Any good book recommendations that specifically deal with 3 year olds and how to work with them?

[GuildJenn]

Yup, normal, from everything I've seen, read, and experienced.

With our son what has helped the most is 1) a very consistent routine for the "must-dos" (brush teeth, bedtime, etc.) 2) as much reconnection time as possible when things are going well, 3) lots of physical activity and 4) breaks for the adults! So we stay calm!

I like the "Your three year old..." (part of the series) for understanding what's going on. And I found that it's just the last 6 months or so (my son is almost four) that a number of the techniques in "How to talk so kids will listen" have started to work.