Our 2 year old IS 'normal'

Yesterday Nolan had a doctors appointment with his Pediatrician due to behavioral issues. We were worried about his temper tantrums. We thought that they may have been a little EXCESSIVE...we were also concerned about his lack of sleep. The visit was very informative and I walked out of there with an entirely different perspective about Toddlers.

Our Pediatrician is wonderful. He spends quality time with his patients. He does not rush the visit, he is very playful, he doesn't make the parents feel like they are worthless or stupid and he is genuinely concerned about the children.

Yesterday we were scheduled for a 3:45 appointment and we walked out of there at 4:50. He answered every one of my questions and reassured me that Nolan IS just like EVERY other 2 year old out there.

I learned that we need to stop labeling him with saying he is "violent, aggressive and mean." We need to stop spanking him because it's hurting him in the long run. You cannot teach a child not to hit by hitting him. I also found out that my expectations for Nolan were too high. I expected him to understand sitting in time-out and standing in the corner with his nose on the wall. Instead of telling him that he isn't being nice or that he's being mean, we need to tell him that his behavior is not acceptable. When he hits, throws things or does anything that is not acceptable, we then need to pick him up, say in a very stern voice "we don't hit" and plop him down in the middle of the room on the floor and walk away. If he chases after us, simply ignore him. He also told me to be sure to continue with telling him positive things about him that he is doing and how happy he makes us. The
doctor told me that we need to move his bedroom back upstairs closer to us and when we put him to bed I need to stay in his room with him until he goes to sleep. If he gets up in the middle of the night then I need to bring him back to his bed and stay with him until he falls asleep again. He believes that within a few weeks Nolan will be back to sleeping a normal 10 hours a night with little interruption and I should notice a change with his tantrums. If nothing has changed then he wants to see us back in the office.

Last night we layed with him and he fell asleep. This morning I placed him in the middle of the room on the floor a few times and he hasn't been back since!

I pray that we start to notice a change soon. I just need to let him be a toddler and allow him to be himself!