my kids have turned into monsters! help!

ughhh, it's finally happened. my girls are turning into little terrors! it's been going on for maybe 1-2 wks and i attributed it to them not feeling well last week with diarrhea and diaper rashes. now they are physically better, but behavior wise, they're continually getting worse! i finally had to implement time-outs today. i got the idea from here where i just hold the one who's acting up in my lap and hold her arms down and hold her really still for 1 minute. she hates it and screams the whole time and kicks. but nowadays, when i tell them no to stuff, for example playing with the trashbag in the trash can, or putting cords into their mouth, they will stop momentarily, then go back and slap it again, as if to say, 'see i'm the one in charge!'. it's driving me crazy! i was enjoying them so much until this stuff started. i guess you could say they are defiant. they are also rebelling against their morning nap and basically not getting one after 1-2 tries every morning. is this a phase or is this the beginning of the end of my sanity??

 

It is a phase. Mine used to love to test their boundaries with me around that age. At 20 months they are much better about it, they will try and I can tell them not to do it and they will stop (not that they won't try again later on in the day or the next day)-they are much better with listening. It does make you :wacko: but I found being consistent helped, no matter how annoyed I got with them.
It also sounds like your girls might be ready to go to one nap. Mine started to boycott the morning nap around the same age (15 months). Hang in there, Momma!

 

It's a phase. And the beginning of the end of your sanity. My twins (b/g) literally laugh at me when I get mad at them/they get in trouble. Time out is even a joke to DD. Though they do take their grandparents and babysitter much more seriously. Maybe they know they can torment you. As for the naps, mine are still on 2 a day, but for only 1 hour each. If they rebel in the morning, it turns into a longer afternoon one, or possibly an early bedtime, which is fine with me too.

Good luck!!

 

I agree, sounds like time for one nap. I dreaded it but now that we're there, the freedom of having more time during the day is nice.
As for the other behavioral stuff, I think thats just normal toddler behavior, as frustrating and maddening as it is. It helped me to try keep in mind that even though they sort of seem like they're listening to you, they don't necessarily have the intellectual ability to put together all the steps involved:
1. Listen to mom
2. Understand what she says
3. Associate the command with my action
4. Overcome the overwhelming urge to mess with stuff
5. Stop doing what I'm not supposed to
I know it seems simple to us to follow a basic command but theres a lot going on in their little heads to do what you ask and if the process gets derailed at any point, you've still got a kid doing what they're not supposed to.
Cut them a little slack and then cut yourself some too, this behavior doesn't have to be any indication of future behavior. It will get better!

 

My 12 month old dd has already started this defiant behavior. She bit her older sister's finger on purpose this past weekend, and I had, had enough. I put her butt over in time out and sat there with her and didn't let her move from there. She didn't like it one bit. LOL! Same thing, I tell her no and she goes and does it again. I remember with older dd that it started around 16 or so months and then it got better before she turned 2. If the youngest dd is already starting this at 12 months, I'm worried.

Naps, we are down to one, same scenario as yours.

 

Phase, and probably time to move to one nap. You are on the verge of them really starting to understand you. At 19 months, we are at the beginning of being able to reason with them a little: "Do this, and then you can do ____."

 

I would hopefully say phase because mine have just started this too. Lily walks around saying No No. Max turns around when I say "no buttons, don't touch the vcr" and gives me the cheesiest grin. It drives me crazy. I just keep remember my sister saying that as each thing that they do that drives me crazy passes something else will replace it :wacko:. That is when I try to remember how hard we tried to get pregnant with them and even though it is crazy sometimes it is still a blessing. Plus one day I will have stories to tell their future boyfriend/girlfriend and husband/wife :laughing: .

 

My boys have started doing this too. It's almost like it's a game to them. We also just started time outs for certian things (like hitting and biting or if they are doing something dangerous). I think a lot of it is them just testing their boundries and is a totally normal stage. It is super frustrating though and drives me nuts. I'm hoping that in a few short months it will all be a memory and we'll be on to some other annoying behavior.

 

15-20 months was harder for me than any of the newborn phase. They didn't listen, they were relentless, they had no concept of danger, they had the physical ability to get into a great deal of trouble in a hurry, they forgot lessons learned in seconds... The good news is that communication skills help so anything you can do to help facilitate that (signing, for example) is a great idea.