Screaming kicking and crying!

Mom has no idea what to do little one completly rules the roost over there, and i have tried sitting there cartoons, books,arts,food,drinks,cuddle she will have nothing of it. she WILL push past me and countinue on with her fit.

Ah. Well that makes your job much more difficult.

With our son, who has a monster temper, we've started using the methods in the book "1,2,3, Magic!" Our version was for Christian parents, but I'm fairly certain there's a secular version out there if that's not your bag, and even if there isn't, you don't have to be Christian to use the methods -- he talks about God in his reasoning to the parents, but you're not like quoting Scripture at the kiddos or anything. To put it simply, when the child is doing an undesired behavior, you calmly say, "That's 1." No anger, no reasoning, nothing. You wait for them to stop. If they don't, "That's 2." You wait again. If it continues, you say, "That's 3," and then continue with a time-out, or whatever consequence is acceptable. For her, a time-out would be what I would suggest, one minute per year of age. She doesn't have to sit quietly, she just has to stay in the designated spot away from others. If it continues again, she gets counted again, and then the time-out. You can also use temporary removal of a toy, as you said in your first post, for a set time limit -- maybe until after lunch, or whatever. Find a consequence that works for you, and stick with it. Don't show emotion or anger, don't try to reason with her (because as the other person said, you can't reason with a 2-year-old), just calmly count and follow through. If it's something new that she might not know is against the rules, you can tell her the first time why she's getting counted, but otherwise, she knows what she's doing wrong.

I've known several moms who have used the book, and I've heard of teachers using it, and it really does work well, IF you stick with it and are consistent. And it doesn't matter if she rules the roost at home -- she'll know the rules at your house if you are consistent with them.

Good luck!

Ihavenoideawhatthehellyouaretryingtosaybecauseofalloftherunonsentencesandpoorspellingandorgrammar.

Being rude, yeah that's clever.

In my experience dealing with young children like that they often hate to see their mommy leave. I used to babysit this little boy and after his mommy left he'd start crying and screaming and breaking down. I'd just pick him up and comfort him then sit down with him and calmly read him some of his favorite books until he calmed down. You could always ask the mother some ideas that would help calm her down. I've seen that taking favorite toys away from a child who's already upset just makes matters worse. She probably just wants to have something with her that would bring her comfort. If you haven't been babysitting her for a long time then she'll probably start to warm up to you after being around you a few times. I can walk in the room and just get the little boy to start playing so he's distracted when his mom leaves. Not sure how much help that was but maybe something will work!

And they don't call it the "Terrible Two's" for no reason. You can't often reason with them, it usually doesn't work.

Ok! So im babysitting a girl age of 2 who is really good most of the time. But when mom leaves its hysterics to the point of no calming down. I've started putting her in time out, explaining to her when she is done crying she can come out.

I tried sitting with her, hugging her and distracting her, and either she pushes past me and claws at the door or pushes away from me. But ALWAYS screaming. At nap time it's worse: lots of screaming and crying - loud screaming!

I have two kids of my own so naptime is important - not only for them but it's a recharge break for me as well. I've gotten to the point during nap where if there is crying I take her favorite things from here and explain "these are for naptime. There is no crying at naptime. If you cry, I take these away." The crying sometimes continues, and when it does I take her things only for a minute two. Then the screaming goes on even more and I go back in and explain what I said before. Finally it seems to work at some point.

I also forgot to say that she is being potty trained. In the morning, during her hissy fits (even if mom has taken her to pee), and I ask or take her to pee, she will not pee on the potty - she just continues to scream for time out until she pees the floor. She stops shortly afterward. I know I sound harsh with the things I do. I feel mean and terrible and I dont know what else to do. Does anyone know anything I can do?

(please excuse the modification of your original text - just wanted to make it easier to read through a few times)

I don't know how much success you will have trying to reason with a two-year-old. The brain just doesn't have the same kind of processing skills that we do at such a young age.

It sounds like you might need to talk to the mom about what's going on and see if you can both come up with some solutions. There is plenty of opinion out there with regard to use of "Time Out." Some will say it's bad and never to be used. Some will swear by it. I think *ANY* solution you try with a child that doesn't work after a few attempts should be replaced or modified.

It's tempting to just stubbornly try to impose your will. And that may work. It's probably more successful than negotiation. But a battle of wills with a toddler isn't the best approach, IMO. Get some help - check out some books from the library, search the Internet for ways to interact and engage with a two-year-old. Research ways to set limits with a two-year-old.

You say that mom has no idea of what to do - so she knows what is happening? Sounds like a tough situation. Is this a job you have to have? Is it a relative? Are you committed to this job? Really young children can be difficult to care for. Some people aren't well-suited for it - their personalities work better with kids four, five, school-age, etc.

What you are describing isn't really all that abnormal for young kids. Kiddos don't have the language skills to articulate what they want. Heck, most of us struggle with that now. So they cry and kick and scream and pee on the floor. The kids do as well.

I hope you find a solution that works for you.