She is feared and notorious: the defiance phase. Britons also call them the “Terrible Twos” because the children tend to have excessive cholerics, especially at the age of two.
Now we know that defiance is part of normal development and even a good sign – because toddlers only dare to freak out with people they feel safe with. Everything is fine with our mother-child relationship* – even if we’ve just been hit in the head with a wooden block.
Nevertheless: The reasons why the little ones turn into howling monsters from one second to the next are often, well, very surprising. And bring us to the edge of our suffering limit.
Here is a small excerpt from a toddler’s catalog of anger:
* Being a parent is diverse, just like family constellations. Even though we use the terms father and mother in our texts, we want to address everyone, including every mapa, pama and eltens. Because you are all parents.