The Terrible Four's...

When will the attitude, tantrum, whining phase end? I remember Ethan threw his first little tantrum at 13 months. He just sat down and cried when we took a toy from him at bedtime. It has since been 36 months, and he is much, much more dramatic. I don't know what is going on with him. He's turned into quite a spiteful little guy. We'll be sitting at dinner and he'll go out of his way to make loud, obnoxious noises. When we tell him to stop, he'll smile at us and make the sounds one more time for good measure. He'll wildly throw things around the room, and scream and kick "no" when we take those things from him. If he asks for something (a snack, help with a toy, etc) and we do not get it for him immediately, we are met with constant whining and asking for it over and over and over. Time outs, yelling, spanking, rewards - nothing seems to help. They may provide a temporary fix or distraction, but the behavior never stops for long.

It's tough because he can be the sweetest boy. Sometimes. When he comes home from preschool, he'll ask me if I've had a hug in a while and come over and cuddle. He'll get Jack a toy and try to make him laugh. He'll say please and thank you. When I see him at school, he is always well-mannered and behaved.

But the poor guy gets so much negative attention at home because it's just non-stop crazies here.

What do I do with a head-strong 4-year-old? At this point, we are researching boarding schools. I'm only half kidding.

It's going to be a long summer.