Terrible 3's...?

Question

My son is just over 3 1/2 years old and full blown into his terrible 3's. He didn't have a terrible 2 phase so now, I guess, we're seeing that phase everyone talks about. I knew he'd go through a no stage but I had no idea it was no to EVERYTHING. If I say, 'the sky is blue'. His response is, 'no, it's not blue'. If I say, 'that's the color red'. His response is, 'no, that's not the color red'. It doesn't matter what I say, his response is 'no'. It's frustrating as h**l. I'm just curious what others have experienced with this phase.

Answer 1

learn to ignore the negative behaviors.  i use some of this stuff to my kid's benefit.  when she asks if a color is red (and it is) i say "blue".  she corrects me & feels empowered.  you might find that this is the beginning of your child's sense of humor.  relax and pick your battles.

Answer 2

He's working things out for himself.  Things with the world and how he relates to you.  It will pass.  3 was worse than 2 and 4 was worse than 3.  Hang in there.  My son is going to be 5 in 3 months and it is getting better.

Answer 3

My daughter is just coming up on 3 and does some very similar things.  She's especially argumentative with my husband, actually!  When she's being especially trying, hard as it is (she gets her stubbornness from me so it can really be tough to control myself) I remain as calm as possible and explain to her why it is that Mommy and Daddy are right.  It's not always helpful or effective, but I think that giving in to her when she's like that will only encourage her to be more trying, know what I mean?  Best of luck to you, I'm told by those with more experience than me that this is only a stage and we need to just tough it out!!

Answer 4

My kids are 2 1/2 and 4 1/2 and I never experienced this.  "No" isn't a word we use regularly.  Instead, we tell them what we want them to do or say.  When they began with "no", we would say - No doesn't mean anything to me.  Tell me what it is that you want.

I would try to respond to what he says with a "Really, what color is it? "  Or beat him to the punch and ask him to tell you first.