Strong Willed Child

I was so excited when Buggy started talking.  We tried doing some sign language with him, but he was completely not interested - he just wanted to talk.  So here we are at 18-months old and he is talking up a storm.  He has 2-3 word sentences and is very good at making his wishes known.

I had heard for years that parents are so excited to get their children to talk and then spend years trying to get them to stop.  Well, today, I got a glimpse of that sentiment.  I also got a glimpse of the strong will inside our little man.

At this point in our parenting journey, there are just a couple "spank-worthy" offenses.  We have a very structured way of handling a spanking.  Well, one major offense is biting mommy.  Tonight we got to have another spanking episode but this time it had a totally different outcome from normal!

This is how it all went down.

Buggy had been biting me a bit (no pun intended).   I sat him on my knee and looked him in the eye and told him he may not bite mommy and that if he bites mommy, he will get a spanking.  I asked him if he understood.  He looked me in the eye, nodded his head yes, and gave his leg a little spank so I knew he understood.  He smiled a devilish smile, looked me in the eye, and chomped down on my hand as hard as he could.   I looked him in the eye and reiterated that he gets a spanking for biting mommy and since he disobeyed, he would be getting a spanking.  He got 3 swats on his leg like usual.  He cried a little like usual.  We started to reconcile - I explain how much I love him and how I discipline him because I love him just like God disciplines us because He loves us.  Well, Buggy wasn't having any of it.  He was MAD as a wet hen about not getting his own way.

I let him down to cool off.  He started weeping and yelling for Daddy.  At one point, he turned and looked me in the eye.  In the most pathetic voice he could muster, he croaked out "Daddy!"  then crossed his arms in front and said, "Bad Mommy!"

He's not even two!  What in the world did we get ourselves into?!  Goodness!

In the end, we did reconcile.  He is biting mommy less - it used to be a very common occurrence and now happens mostly when Buggy is tired. 

When did the "terrible two's" set in with your kids?  I think we've reached ours here!