Not only did she respond to the question, which was rhetorical, with the sign for “angry” or “grumpy”, but she decided a serious anger face, accompanied by a loud growl was necessary to get her point across.
The 2 year fits of frustration have begun. You should see how silly I look splayed out flat on my tummy, wailing, while my arms and legs flap about! Oh… wait. Maybe it’s more entertaining to watch me watch her doing that.
So far, there is an almost predictable pattern of her just plain losing it. Scenario one: She just awoke from a nap that wasn’t long enough. Watch out. Scenario two: She is exhausted, has stopped signing, has stopped playing, has started whining and whimpering, and dragging her little body around (while still on foot) the entire house.. Here comes the.. blahahahahaha… yep.
So far, the best option is to just ignore her. It seems that she almost needs these breakdowns. She is angry and frustrated and it isn’t directed at anyone, it’s directed at everyone and everything, including her own little self.
After a few minutes, she calms down and returns to normal, sometimes better. She has never had one of these episodes out in public, always just at home, and if she continues that we will be just fine. We just hope that whatever her little brain is struggling to connect during this time will connect soon because aside from the entertainment factor, it is actually sad and painful to watch her be so frustrated.
I will however continue to state that the Signing has decreased or all but eliminated tantrums in our situation. She never flips out when there isn’t some other power at play (that being sleep depravation). She gets mad once in a while when she doesn’t get what she wants, and she tells us about it, with words, not screaming or hitting, or whatever else is common for 18 month old children.
