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Updated 225 Days ago

An Angry Little Boy

Parenting makes college (and all other "learning curve" endeavors) seem easy. Every day, there's something new, different, and often out of left field.

Last night was no different. My wife, Julie, was at a business meeting, and two and a half year old Quinn and I were engaged in World War III.

It started over something simple...he had an altercation with the dog. This is not new. (He will occasionally get mad at her and pull her hair. She's twice his size but puts up with this.) He was put into "time out" and began screaming bloody murder. (This is somewhat new, though not unprecedented.)

I repeatedly told him there was nothing to cry about, but to no avail. The screams got louder and longer. It was at this point, I am embarrassed to say, I lowered myself to the level of a two year old. He screamed, so I screamed. This, of course, accomplished nothing but to make matters worse. (Serves me right!) Finally I put him to bed for a few minutes in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

After a while, things finally calmed down. I made him dinner and, as we sat at the table eating, there was another first: he recited the entire altercation back to me from his point of view. He looked up at me with his puffy little eyes and it went something like this:

"I sorry, Daddy. Daddy scream and say no to cry and Quinn go night night. Sorry, Daddy."

At that moment, everything he had done wrong was cleared from my mind. I was simply waiting for Social Services to knock on the door and lock me up.  Yucky parent syndrome was in full effect. I felt about two inches tall.

Do you have any similar stories? Does this helpless feeling ring a bell? How do you deal with the temper tantrum that won't end? I'm all ears...comment below.



  • Kathy 225 Days ago
    No similar story or help for you, George (I'm kidless!) but I loved the story. Good Luck!!
  • Cathy 225 Days ago
    George,
    Stick to your guns about Quinn going to his room, but next time, do it BEFORE you yell back. I have a 9 yo daughter that pushed me to the me yelling point. I began to circumvent that by giving her a snack and if that doesn't work, she goes to her room and I also take a time out for WANTING to yell back. We both have a chance to think about our behavior!

    Then we get back together. Things are better, but I've found that a glass of milk and a little snack goes a long way for little bodies!

    Just move the time-out step up one in your line-up,

  • Heather 225 Days ago
    Aw, George, I bet it about broke your heart. But I don't think you're a bad parent for losing your cool and raising your voice. It happens to the best parents. Just try and remove one of you from the situation before the yelling happens again. The other day Ava got a time out and i put her in her chair and instructed her not to move until she stopped her fussing or until the timer went off, whichever came first. I walked in the other room. She stayed until the timer went off and then she stopped crying. Time out chair rules!

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