The Terrible Threes

There is no such thing as the terrible twos. It’s the terrible threes that you have to look out for. This is the age when kids really start experimenting with different behaviors, as they observe how others behave and try to “find themselves.” That means it’s the age where they start picking up things from other kids. For example, Kai has discovered the phrase “that’s not fair!” which he now uses whenever he doesn’t get what he wants, right now.

I haven’t blogged much this past week as Kai has been running us ragged. After a nice long stretch of being a “good sleeper,” he has reverted to his old habit of being a “bad sleeper.” He’s taking a long time to fall asleep each night, and asking us to come in his room for one thing or another every 5 minutes. It’s sometimes tricky knowing when to indulge him and when not to, as his eczema is a genuine problem, and he’ll scratch himself to the point of bleeding if we don’t keep him properly lotioned and potioned. And he’s off diapers completely now, so we strongly encourage him to use the toilet when needed. So, in order to prolong bedtime, he’s happy to maximize the leverage these two things give him. And then he’s waking up numerous times throughout the night.

He had his first public tantrum at a grocery store on Saturday (until now he’s always restricted his tantrums to the privacy of our home). But on Sunday he was good, and he slept well last night, so hopefully this was just a rough week, and not a sign of things to come.