okay, my son officially freeked me out just now..........?

Question

He's 2 and he just pulled two small plastic cups off the counter (nothing in them), looked at them, looked at me, I looked at him and told him, "Those are dirty, will you please put them back on the counter?" He smiled ear to ear, and threw them across the kitchen, then came up to me and held out his hand for me to smack it......I planned on smacking his hand for doing that but it's like he knew I was going to. Some kids RUN when they know they did something wrong and mom is approaching them saying, "no, you don't throw!"

Then after I smacked his hand, he ran off laughing.

What's your view on this? Or, would a normal, healthy 2 year do this? (Weird!)

allright dezbird, is it OK for him to act this way? It kinda made me sad to see him reach his hand out to me for me to smack it. I've never seen him WANT me to scold him.....more weird, cause usually, when he knows I caught him doing something that HE KNOWS not to do, he runs and hides, but now all of a sudden, he's asking me to hit his hand.......even more weird!

Hey thanks "liv2praz" I'll do that!

um, Sheila, If I grab ahold of my "young gun" and tell him how much I love him when he does this, smile, and "relish" it, He will think that it's OKAY to throw....obviously, YOU have never had a child to raise, so please don't reproduce!

no thanks Becky C, that's too far for me!

Answer 1

hahaha, yep, perfectly normal...it's a game mom, you just didn't know it was your turn


you must have been busy or something and he wanted to make sure he got your attention

my son is 18 and my daughter 17, I don't ever recall when the "no, you don't throw" thing worked. most of the time it was that devilish grin right before they did what I told them not to do.

Answer 2

Ahhh! You’ve got a savvy 2 year old on your hands! He was playing a “game” with you. He knows the consequence when he is naughty, came up with a theory, “If I throw the cups, mom will smack my hands,” and tested it out. He ran off laughing because it worked! He felt like he made something happen. It felt very powerful to him.

Children often test limits to get some attention, be it positive or negative, it’s still attention. A good way to show positive attention is by saying things “You did that by yourself! You can run super fast! You used so many colors on your picture!” These phrases will help him to feel powerful in a positive way.

Use a logical consequence with him when he is being naughty. If he throws the cups (or something else) say to him “Do you want to pick those up by yourself or do you want me to help you.” These are some other examples of logical consequences: If he purposely breaks a toy, he puts it in the trash. If he spills his milk, he wipes it up. If he throws a tantrum, he gets puts into an area away from you until he is ready to calm down. Children respond well when offered a choice and when the consequence for misbehavior is logical. Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Don't you just love two year olds I'm on my 3rd one and she's a hand full. I think if this was me i would of taken him by the hand over to where he threw them made him pick them up and put them back then said to him that was a not a good thing to do throwing them around but he was a good boy for picking them up cause that's what big boy's do. My 2 yr old loves to hear that shes a big girl. Now you would probably find that if they were glass cups and they had broken every where he would freaked out and not did it again. I have learn't to pick my battles some things are just not worth giving them a smack for and they tend to copy everything they see and hear. Your son is so normal he's just finding different ways to get attention out of you sounds like he has alot of character

Answer 4

I would not smack his hand. He has to learn that there are consequences for misbehaving. Make him go and pick up the cups and tell you he's sorry. If he refuses, then to his room until he thinks about it awhile. Games and discipline do not mix and the sooner he learns that, the better off you all will be. Good for you for being concerned. What parents teach kids at 2 and 3 is a basis for future behavior.

Answer 5

He's 2, nothing is "normal" that 2 year olds do, that's what makes them normal. It's all about the games, to see if they can control mom and dad, and usually they win. It's amazing the affect a 2 year old can have on parents without even saying a word

Answer 6

Sounds normal to me at this age, they are testing their limits. A little slap on the hand doesn't hurt much (that's why spanking from a mother rarely work either unless it actually hurt). Maybe you can try timeout, and I mean ISOLATED timeout, no eye contact, no talking, nothing. He understands you pretty well, you can explain to him that this is not a nice thing to do, and he should get a punishment for it.

Answer 7

You are reading too much into this. Relax and take a deep breath. Children mimic behavior, which is not uncommon. The solution was to react to his actions. Well done. You are a good mother.

Answer 8

That makes me sad, too! He is testing out cause and effect, only he is not really taking the "effect" too seriously.

I really love the Supernanny approach (from the tv show). I used her approach to time out with my kids and it works beautifully. I don't even have to mention the word "spank" because the idea of time out straightens them out every time. Two years old is a good age to start time out.

Answer 9

it's normal. your smack doesnt hurt and it might tickle. give him a big frown and stare at him then put the cup away. he'll wonder what he did and think about it. 2 year old actually think alot.

Answer 10

He got your attention didn't he and you played along with his game. Separate discipline from games, you knew from the smile that to him it was game time (well if you didn't now you do).
Grab a hold of that youngun and hold him tight and tell him how much you love him, you'll never get this moment of his life again.
Relish it!