The Taming of the Shrew

shrew
–noun
1. a woman of violent temper and speech; termagant. (dictionary.com)
2. my almost two year old daughter, Rachel. (my recent definition)

Ok, so perhaps that seems harsh. Perhaps not. Especially if you have spent the past few days, weeks, and months listening to her scream, stomp her feet, whine and cry over he smallest most insignificant things incessantly. There are days I just wish I could rip my ears off so I don't have to listen to it anymore.

To say that this sweet child has a temper is a significant understatement. I saw it begin to emerge around the time of her first birthday and it has steadily increased. She turns two this month. When you add in the typical two year old stubbornness to what she inherently has, you have a monster. The word "no" sends her into a fury. There are days when a part of me just wants to give her whatever she wants no matter what just so I don't have to listen to her screaming. But after raising 4 other children past the age of 2, I know that this is the wrong course of action. I do not want her to learn that temper tantrums get results. Otherwise, they will continue forever. I'd hate to see her teenage tantrums!

So, I am daily trying to figure out how to handle this. As a parent, I need to remember that a child's bad behavior is an opportunity for training and growth. I have tried just ignoring the tantrums. This has worked with my other children. Once they figure out that the tantrums don't get them anywhere, they usually give them up. Not so with Rachel. Once she gets going, she will scream and cry for a good half hour. I don't think she even remembers what she got so mad about in the first place. So, lately I have been trying time outs, telling her that she can join us again when she stops screaming. This is tough, though, because it is hard to rationalize with a two year old.

The worst is when we are out in public or with other people. The screaming is so disruptive. I will usually try to take her out of earshot, but sometimes that's not possible because her volume is so high. This makes her such a wild card that I hesitate to take her into some public situations. The kids and I needed to get out of the house for a couple of hours last night and discussed the possibility of a movie, but I worried that Rachel would get restless and start screaming and I would be forced to spend the entire time outside the theater with her and leave my children unsupervised inside or make everyone leave. She is a wild card.

I am taking this one day at a time. Rachel truly isn't all bad. She can be the sweetest thing ever. Then something will set her off and it is like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I just keep praying for God's wisdom in how to handle this and help her work through this temper that is part of her personality. Parenthood certainly is a learning experience!

Oh, the scrapbook page is one I just did. I have been so busy and mentally stretched lately that I have not scrapped in over a month. I am still busy but going through creative withdrawal, so I am back at it. We got my nephew the Hulk Smash Hands for his birthday and they seemed so very appropriate for Rachel to wear. If you haven't seen them, when you put them on and punch something, they yell. One of the lines they say I quoted in the layout, "You're making me angry! You won't like me when I'm angry!" I can almost hear Rachel saying those very words. [grin]

You can view the layout and read the credits here.