When a Two Year Old Thinks He's in Charge

Elijah, my two-year old son, is a sweetie. He's a good helper; he's cheerful and quirky; he's a kind older brother to Daniel, my 8 1/2 month old son; but at times, he's a REAL handful.

Like lately, he's discovered a million and one things to ask for at bedtime. We (my husband and I) send him to bed for the night and every 2-5 minutes for the next hour and half, he's getting out of bed asking for water, to be tucked in (again), to have a story read to him (again), to get help to find his toy truck, to tell us he is 'scared' (although he shows no signs of being actually scared or knowing what scared means), to ask for another diaper change (he's peed about a teaspoon of urine into his diaper and now he's wet), to show us his newest (invisible) ouchie, to ask us to pray for his last five ouchies...okay, I'll spare you and not list off all the reasons.

During the day, he requires constant vigilance. He's started pushing over Daniel (who, thankfully, is a pretty tough chunk of baby) and taking his toys away. He also copycats behavior that Daniel gets scolded for. He screams bloody murder when he doesn't get his own way, or doesn't get it fast enough. He's also entered the "MINE!" and "NO!" stage. Uggh. Was I ever that whiny and demanding as a child? Okay, yes, I'm sure I was.

But, last night, after getting in trouble for throwing a fit at bedtime, he actually came out of his bedroom and found me and said, "Mommy, I sorry. Sorry, Momma." I gave him a big hug, thanked him for apologizing and told him, "I forgive you, sweetie." Then he went back into his room, got into bed and went to sleep without any more dramatics!

I was left sitting in the living room in shock. Was that my kid? My Elijahman? Well, all I can say, is that I knew that sweet little boy was in there somewhere and it sure was good to see him again!

I'm trying my best to raise him in a way that honors God, teaches him to be a good citizen, and hopefully produces a responsible, kind young man in a couple decades. Sometimes, it seems like a losing battle, but then there are those small glimpses that make me think I might not be failing at parenting after all.