https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:55:07 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1911429 Wed, 22 Oct 2014 16:48:51 +0000 Mrs. Pinata 1911429@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>And..... today this kiddo has his first real fever. So, there you go. I was hoping it wasn't true, but he definitely has something. :/ </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1910510 Wed, 22 Oct 2014 08:56:31 +0000 lizzywiz 1910510@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrswin: @Mrs. Pinata: My LO does it when she is sick or tired, too.<br /> We have started 'taking breaks'- when she is clearly out of control, she goes to her room with her lovey and some quiet toys. After she stops screaming/crying, she can come out whenever she wants. It isn't suppossed to be a punishment and she doesn't treat it like one, yet, so we will work it 'til it stops working :wink: .<br /> Good luck!<br /> I was also going to try to make these calm down bottles for on the go: <a href="http://www.hellobee.com/2014/07/21/calm-down-bottles/" rel="nofollow">http://www.hellobee.com/2014/07/21/calm-down-bottles/</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1910240 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 23:38:50 +0000 pregnantbee 1910240@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Exactly what's happening over here. It's hard to deal with, and I'm really hoping it's a phase. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1910169 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 21:40:52 +0000 Mrs. Pinata 1910169@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks everyone! Yeah, definitely an 'out of sorts' day for sure! We've tried talking him through it and validating what he's saying, but it's like he's SO upset he doesn't even know what he wants or why he's melting down anymore! Toddlers are quite complicated creatures. haha! </p> <p>The strange thing is that yesterday was his first day of no crying at preschool, and then he has been a blubbering mess since he came home! It's almost like he held it all in for those 5 hours and then let it out on us for the 30 hours following! ha! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1909969 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 19:37:13 +0000 winniebee 1909969@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Definitely in the range of normal. My son is awesome when out and about but if he is exhausted he can act out of character or insane! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1909889 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 18:53:30 +0000 JerricaBenton 1909889@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>LO is 20 months and unfortunately this seems normal! She's never had a huge tantrum (that I couldn't stop with food/treats/distraction of some type) out in public, but most days we get one a day at home. Pick me up, I want to walk, play a song, this song makes me sick, give me a snack, now I'm going to smash the snack against my shirt and throw it on the floor, rinse and repeat for about 10 (looooong) minutes. I find it extremely difficult to keep my patience. One thing that's been working lately is just to pick her up and go outside. The full change of scenery and fresh air usually does the trick but of course that's not always possible , like if I'm cooking. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1909859 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 18:38:43 +0000 JoyfulKiwi 1909859@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Pinata: yes! Right before F turned 2 he started doing this. Some of ours was a change to his routine (he switched classes at daycare), but mostly he just seems to get overwhelmed with emotions and can't think straight. We "parrot" him and empathize and then just wait it out with him (sometimes together/cuddling, sometimes just nearby). Usually he starts to calm down right when we say his words back to him: "Oh I see you are so upset. You really don't know what you want right now. That happens to me too. Take a big breath, you can handle this..." In public we end up going to the car or some secluded place. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1909383 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 14:30:46 +0000 BabyBoecksMom 1909383@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It sound very normal of our girl when she is tired. It's like the more tired she is, the worse she acts and less you can reason with her.... like her brain is just working to not fall asleep, so all the other activity is so crazy. We now take those as signs to get her to sleep right away (if we can). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1909379 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 14:28:29 +0000 Raindrop 1909379@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You are not alone. My 2.5 year old is very similar. It doesn't happen too often so we are lucky in that sense. I hope that's the same for you! :) </p> <p>What has worked for us is to not give him any attention when he's full blown upset and when he's calmed down we tend to talk it out with him and give him a hug. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1909288 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 13:40:28 +0000 MrsF 1909288@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We're having the same issues here at 25 months, especially over meals. She BEGS for a particular food and even if she gets it she doesn't want it or is crying because she wants something else! It's like she's too upset to do anything. Your library story hits home because M's most common request right now is "daddy pick you up!". </p> <p>hugs! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1909274 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 13:34:20 +0000 shinymama 1909274@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hilsy85: Same here. LO is 25 months and has been losing his mind over everything for the past 2 months. A big part of it - IMO - is that he's not able to fully verbalize what he feels/wants. I'm ready for him to outgrow this phase...especially at daycare where he's starting to become "that kid." :bummed: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1909262 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 13:30:46 +0000 Worrywart 1909262@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You just described my exact 2 year old! You're not alone. Tantrums all over the place. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1909249 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 13:26:16 +0000 Mamasig 1909249@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DS1 turned 2 last month and it's like a switch flipped. Way more tantrums! DH is better at getting him to calm down. He listens more to DH usually anyway. Ugh! I figure it's normal right? That's why they are called the terrible twos. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1909162 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 12:39:36 +0000 LuLu Mom 1909162@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have been struggling with this for a couple months and LO just turned 2. I take it with a grain of salt and pray that the phase ends soon. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1909152 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 12:34:43 +0000 mrswin 1909152@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Pinata: My niece gets like this when she is coming down with something. She was like this with me a few weeks ago and sure enough when I talked to my SIL the next day she had the flu. I hope it is better soon. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1909039 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 11:57:20 +0000 hilsy85 1909039@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Um, my LO just turned 2 and has been like this for the last 3-4 months! So consider yourself lucky that this behavior is just starting now.<br /> Our issue is just that he wants what he wants when he wants it. I can empathize with him til I'm blue in the face, but sometimes he just needs to get his emotions out, and then he's generally fine--until the next meltdown. Hunger and fatigue definitely are huge triggers! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1909034 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 11:55:24 +0000 mrbee 1909034@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Sounds super normal!!</p> <p>Meltdowns were a huge problem for us around 2 or 3 yo, until we figured out that Charlie just wanted us to listen to him. That helped a lot - even if we didn't give him what he wanted, just listening to him and repeating his statements back to him made him so much less meltdown-y. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1909028 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 11:53:10 +0000 regberadaisy 1909028@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Um. Yes. No advice bc sometimes you just can't give in. Our best tactic is talking it through and it sometimes works. Others she's in time out 4-5x before lunch. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1909021 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 11:49:51 +0000 MrsRcCar 1909021@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I am following because I am in the same boat. @.@ </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-year-old-meltdowns-is-this-normal#post-1909013 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 11:46:46 +0000 Mrs. Pinata 1909013@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Little Pinata is usually pretty well behaved, but he's also a very spirited child. He's either extraordinarily happy or really asserting that he's upset. We try to be calm and talk through situations with him when he's upset, and that works most of the time.</p> <p>However, today was a disaster. We tried to do Library story time for toddlers and he just ran around excitedly screaming. So, we left early. Then, we attempted a trip to Target and this was when the out-of-character meltdown happenned. </p> <p>He just cried and cried for me to "hold you," so I tried to hold him, but then he would cry about something else, followed by a freak out about his sticker and his non-existent "boo boo." He would calm down, and then within 5 minutes have a meltdown about something else, totally crazy! I thought "maybe he's hungry. He didn't have the BEST breakfast", so I tried to give him an applesauce pouch, which was followed by screaming that he didn't want the applesauce pouch and then when I put it away he screamed that he DID want it. This continued until I decided we were going to just leave our cart in the middle of the store and go home. I've definitely never had to do that before.</p> <p>Is this normal? The "I want this and then when I get it I scream that I don't want it" back and forth thing? It's very new and we don't give him things when he screams, so he has to ask nicely first, but he asks nicely then gets it and then goes into meltdown mode. WHAT!? </p> <p>Of course, as soon as we got into the car he was totally calm and ate his applesauce pouch and didn't fuss the whole time. We got home at 11:15 and he was acting SUPER tired (not to mention the aforementioned meltdown at Target). So, because he just had some applesauce and was a total mess I started him naptime routine and skipped lunch. He didn't even want me to rock him and requested his crib and then was asleep in less than a minute</p> <p>So, obviously there was some exhaustion going on here (weird since he slept more than 12 hours last night). But, it made me think of this new "I want this, no I don't so I'm going to freak out and go back and forth about it to drive you crazy" behavior. Is this normal for a 2.5 year old and how do you usually handle it? </p>