Paper I wrote for my english class

A day with Colin is similar to riding a roller coaster; your emotions are constantly up and down. Starting with waking up in the middle of the night to battling over breakfast, trying to get out the door on time and seeking out well needed quiet time at the end of the day. Colin is my two year old son and although none of you will deal with him personally this guide may help you when it comes time to face the “terrible twos” with your own child. There are four steps I use on a daily basis to keep myself from becoming over stressed. Dealing with children may seem like a walk in the park but it takes a lot of patience, time, and a great sense of humor. Although at times encountering a two year old can be a strain on the emotions the good times far out weigh the bad.
My day usually kicks off at three o’clock in the morning from the sound of a high pitched whiney little voice demanding “GO!”. In the language of Colin “go” really mean “Mom I would like you to please get up and make me a bottle so I can fall back to sleep”. Reluctantly I get out of bed and stumble to the fridge, pull out the milk, pour the bottle, and stick it in the microwave for forty seconds exactly. When I return to the room and give him his bottle he happily slurps his way back asleep. I, on the other hand, usually find it hard to fall back asleep. This is where my step one comes in handy. Find a way to relax yourself back to sleep. I breathe deeply through my nose; hold the breath for a few seconds than exhale out my mouth. This expands my lungs and allows me to relax. Also, to keep my mind from turning on all the things I have to get done that day I repeat “breath in and breath out” with each breath. Soon I find myself fast asleep again.
The next stage of my day begins three short hours later to the sound of my ringing alarm clock. At this sound I roll out of bed and quickly try to get my daily shower in before Colin awakes. Once he does wake up the first thing he wants is a bottle of milk. I have found that if you have the bottle ready ahead of time and somewhere he can reach it immediately you may save yourself the headache of a early morning tantrum. Once his early morning sleepiness wears off and his energy has kicked in it is a lot of entertainment. Usually the first thing he will do is his favorite past time, he does this often and with increased enthusiasm. Carefully he will climb onto his Mickey Mouse motor cycle, which currently does not work, and strum his super cool red guitar. While playing his automated music and riding his hog he yells “Ruc n Rul, Ruc n Rul”. In Colin language that means rock and roll. Often this chant is accompanied by some really cool dancing and head banging. Times like these are my favorites I can’t help but smile and remember how boring my mornings where before I had him. After some play time I head into the kitchen to make my little guy some breakfast. I do this knowing that he will not eat anything I make, he will throw it on the ground and it will become one more thing for me to clean up. I am continuously trying new breakfast items hoping that something might catch his attention. Knowing my son really needs to eat breakfast and also knowing he won’t eat anything I make him is where my since of humor comes into play. I have to laugh at the situation because if I dwelled on it I would probably get extremely frustrated and stressed out. Step two is to be patient and creative, don’t give up eventually you will find something that works. Needless to say most mornings my son does not intake any breakfast and I have a whole lot of dishes to do. At times like these I remind myself that strong qualities like knowing what you want and not settling for less are great qualities that will make him a good man some day.
Trying to get to school in the morning is a battle of patience every day. Somehow it’s as though my son knows when it’s precisely five minutes to out the door. At this time while I am running around trying to make sure I’m not forgetting anything, he is running around taking off his shoes and putting the two shoes in separate locations. As I am running around trying to find his shoes he is usually running around taking off his socks. Once I find the shoes and socks and make an attempt to return them to his feet I often find him emptying out the contents of my back pack. Step three is to always stay calm, find a technique that works for you. Loosing your cool will not help you in anyway and trust me it will not make your child cooperate. At this point I usually have to stop and count to ten, which I find very helpful, and then I continue on my mission to right all of his wrongs. Once we are out the door, in the car and driving down the road he always makes me smile by jamming out in the back seat to whatever is on the radio. It doesn’t matter if it’s a commercial, if it has music Colin will dance and sing. This always makes me smile, laugh and beam with pride. Being a big music buff myself I appreciate his enthusiasm.
After a long day of work and school Colin and I come home to enjoy a relaxing evening. This usually consists of more Rock and Roll motor cycle riding, lots of cars and trucks, and a book or two. As the evening grows later I take Colin in for a bath where he splashes around and practices his swimming. Once pajamas are on I settle onto the couch for some much needed down time. If I am watching a show on T.V that I really like or if the show is at a part that is vital to the plot this is usually when my son will come running out of his room with his popper. For those of you who are not familiar with the popper toy, it is a push toy that makes a really loud popping sound when in motion pop, pop, pop… Step four is to keep a sense of humor and never take yourself too seriously. I try to record my shows so that I can re-watch them once he is asleep. At two years old the chances of your child respecting your need for quiet time is non existent. Once Colin is asleep, a moment I wait for throughout the evening, I find myself missing his theatrics and wishing he was awake again.
Living with a two year old is one of the greatest experiences in the world but at the same time can be one of the most stressful. It takes time, patience, and a great sense of humor. When you find yourself losing your cool please remember these four steps; Find a relaxation technique, be patient and creative, find a way to stay calm, and last but most importantly keep a sense of humor and don’t allow yourself to be too serious. Kids will be kids and their never perfect but they are always a gift to treasure.