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Have you tried like a tv detox? Go a week or two with no tv. Sometime it resets them so they don't ask for it all the time

Following and wish I had advice. I have a 2.5 year old and it feels like everyday starts with a tantrum!

@oskarsmommy: I can tell you that we are doing a lot of things that don't work. Bribery is one. He is crazy for YouTube videos on the iPad which helps to distract sometimes but also backfires on us a lot. Like everyday when we have to leave the house. I also think for my son he is the middle child and while he loves his baby brother he is also jealous of the attention. We have 3 kids so unfortunately there is more of them than us and it is hard to give him the 1:1 undivided attention that sometimes he is seeking. I know it is such a tough age where they are going through so much but can not verbalize it all. I know not helpful advice but know that you are not alone and this too shall pass!

@oskarsmommy: I agree with trying a TV detox. And maybe a sweets detox, too! Just go cold turkey. Unplug the tv during LOs waking hours so he can see it doesn't work, and don't have any junk in house so you can show him and say, "no more". It might be 1-2 hard days but then it should improve.

Also, it's just a frustrating age. We all feel like we are failing sometimes.

This makes me feel a little more normal. My little boy is 3 today and he gives us such a hard time, like we'd be worried about his hearing if we didn't know better, just completely ignores us. He will skip dinner and expect treats and shows all night. We try to be strict but my husband works so much that he's often not fully engaged at that time of the evening and I haven't been feeling well. Turning off the tv and sticking with it does help sometimes.

My 3.5 year old is difficult. I feel like I've read a thousand books. The one that has been the most helpful is "How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk." The best thing about it is it has sample "scripts," which I find to be helpful in thinking through how a conversation would actually play out.

My 3.5 y/o DS is very hard headed too. And yes I feel like I am always saying turn off the tv or the iPad. But sadly we do rely on it for a few minutes in the morning and evening when prepping dinner.

I use my iPhone timer A LOT and I feel that it helps SO much when I say last minute of tv and set the timer.

I, too, have a strong-willed child. Listening to Janet Lansbury's podcast (and audiobooks) have been life changing.

We also just started reading How to Talk so Kids ..., and I find it so helpful. I hope you find some tools that help!

Agree with @T.H.O.U.:

We found that the iPad was becoming an issue for our 3yo and his (and our allowal) use of it was too much. So we quit cold turkey (still allowed tv)... it was hard and he constantly asked for it for like 2 weeks, then less & less. It's been about 2/3 months and we've let him have it here and there, maybe 5 times in 3 months, and it's much better!! Tv we just say he can do one or two shows or 1 movie and he's fine... he's four now though so a little easier to reason with! Good luck! A reset should help!

Count this as another vote for the cold turkey detox method.

As for the car seat, have you considered the Love & Logic approach? Choices + consequences, but no battles? "oh, you don't want to be in your car seat? that's ok, it's no big deal to me. You can stay here. But I'm going on an adventure. sure would be fun to have you along, but I'll survive if you choose not to." It's an imperfect method, but sometimes they fight you because they can and they want to assert their independence. So if you diffuse things, and stop fighting them about it, eventually they stop fighting you.