Being three is hard. You’re a toddler and you’re a preschooler. There’s so much you can do and still so much you can’t do. The year between two and three is commonly called the Terrible Twos. Many parents find that the Terrible Twos are not one year. Those Terribles can start at one and last until age five.
My three-year-old was a great two-year-old. She wasn’t a Terrible Two at all; she was just Jessie. The threes have hit her hard. I think I live with a mini Dr Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. She is the sweetest most loving little person and she’s a walking whining tantrum. Yes, she does have a tendency to walk through her tantrums. Whining is my toddler’s normal tone of voice at three.
I can’t blame the toddler as much as I’d like to. She can’t help it. She is delayed in speech and cognition. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be around people my own age and not be able to communicate or understand a lot of the things said to me. I have to hand it to her, though; she has begun talking a lot more since she started preschool and working with a speech therapist there.
What’s a toddler parent to do? Love and patience are what toddlers need. Love is easy. I couldn’t love this child any more than I do. Patience is harder. I have to remind her to use her words and that I can’t understand whining. The problem with that is that she is doing the best that she can. She feels so strongly and it’s really hard to dial it back to think and communicate on a less passionate level.
My fingers are crossed tightly that four will bring a new Jessie. We have only nine months to go.