One mum’s advice on coping with the terrible twos

HerFamily

The terrible twos ain’t easy but one mum has shared some stellar advice

We’ve all heard about the terrible twos being well, terrible so it’s always nice to hear that eventually, it does get easier.

Here’s one mum’s advice on how to cope with your child’s big milestone.

Pack away everything you love

Toddlers somehow manage to get into everything so hide your most treasured possessions.

When my son was two I had just bought myself one of the Naked palettes… I think you know where this is going.

I had put him down for a sleep so I wasn’t worried that I hadn’t heard any noise from him because let’s face it, a quiet toddler is a dangerous toddler.

When I went up to check on him I found he had gotten out of his bed and into my makeup drawer and of course, decided my brand new eyeshadow palette would be the perfect thing to finger paint with. He not only covered himself with makeup but also all of his bed covers and the wall.

I have to say that eyeshadow is well pigmented because it’s been four years and it’s still coming through the coat of paint we put over it.

Hide the glitter

If anyone buys your two-year-old glitter, unfriend them immediately. You don’t need that sort of frenemy in your life.

Toddlers are filth wizards and the worst accomplice to this is glitter.

It gets everywhere and it will never be gone. 50 years from now you’ll still be finding it under the sofa.

Prepare for meltdowns, there will be meltdowns

Even the best of kids have breakdowns, it happens.

My child’s meltdown doesn’t bother me, but the people reacting in public makes me feel panicked.

What I’ve found though is that most parents watching on from the sidelines are sympathising and not judging.

Only recently my little one was hot and fed up with being stuck in a queue while we were shopping. She started crying and the mum in front of me started dancing to distract her and another woman in the queue beside us began to talk to her.

If one thing will get you through toddlerhood it’s the amazing parents that help other parents.

Poo happens

I still have flashbacks to the day my son decided nappies just weren’t fun to wear anymore.

He was playing on the floor while I was sitting near him working on my laptop. I had to get invoices sent to work ASAP so I was concentrating hard on what I was typing.

All of a sudden the room started to smell bad, and I mean really bad.

I looked up and my son had taken off his nappy and covered himself, all of his toys, and the sitting room wall in poo. I’m pretty sure they could hear me screaming in Australia.

My personal advice is duct tape will be your friend during the terrible twos.

Cut yourself some slack

I beat myself up so much when I was a first-time parent and I wish I could go back in time and tell myself ‘It’ll be grand’.

We put so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect parents that we forget we’re still human and can’t get it right all of the time.

Don’t mind what you see on social media, nobody’s kid is happy 24/7, it probably took over 70 takes before they even got the photo that they uploaded.

Give yourself a break, have a cuppa, chat with a friend, and know you got this.