Parenting a toddler

This is a hard post to write…  Being a mom has been challenging lately.  I feel like I rocked the baby years, but toddlerhood… it’s a whole new ballgame and I’ve got a lot to learn.

W has been hitting the dog and throwing things lately.  He seems to hit the dog most often when he’s angry or frustrated.  I’ll tell him no or take something away and he’ll run over to the dog and smack her on the head.  It.is.so.incredibly.frustrating.  He’s had several time outs, I’ve yanked him away from the dog, I’ve yelled at him.  I feel incredibly guilty about it and nothing has worked.  And honestly, I feel really bad for the dog, but she just puts up with it.

Then there’s the throwing.  And I can’t even come up with a pattern to this.  I think W is confused that he can throw a ball or dog toy, but nothing else.  Yesterday he threw a book at my glass candle centerpiece (and his aim is scary good).  He also throws cups and objects at the dog and then laughs.

As if that weren’t bad enough, we had a doctor’s appointment over the weekend and I expressed concern that W wasn’t talking more.  The pediatrician agreed and recommended speech therapy if W doesn’t increase his word count significantly in the next 3 months.

I feel like a failure.  In my heart, I know that we read to him constantly, talk to him, and look at flash cards.  We go on walks, go to the Farmer’s Market on Friday, attend swim lessons and music class, etc.  He’s a happy boy with a very full life.  I don’t think there is anything we could’ve done differently, but I still feel like I failed him somehow. L

Parenting a toddler has not been easy.  I think this is just a phase and we’ll get through it.  But right now, uggh.

I did have someone at church approach me on Sunday and tell me that W is always so well behaved.  So there's that.  Maybe he knows God is watching. ;)  I probably just jinxed Sunday mass for us.