My DD is 26 months. She's always been really high energy, which in general I like--it's very tiring, but I love her zest, enthusiasm, and active nature.
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But lately it's gone to another level. She'll just run around laughing like a crazy person. Again, for a little while this is OK--she's a toddler, I'm not expecting her act like a composed adult--but it becomes a problem when it goes on for a long time and we need her to do something else, like come over to us to get dressed. It's especially a problem when we go outside to the car--she often runs away laughing, which is definitely a safety issue; she does this in stores too. If you speak to her firmly or even lose your temper and really get angry at her, she usually just laughs.
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Picking her up and trying to talk soothing to her does nothing to calm her down. She just writhes around. And like I said, getting really serious or angry does nothing either. And acting all happy and high-energy like her amps her up even more. What can we do in those moments when we really need her to calm down enough to focus on us for a few moments and cooperate with what we need her to do?
