The Crazy Things That Toddlers Do
The Crazy Things That Toddlers Do
Melinda Roberts had just moved to a new neighborhood and was busy getting the bath ready for her 2-year-old son. But when the San Jose, CA, mom spun around, there was no sign of Dylan. So she checked the house and spied the front door wide open.
"Uh-oh," she thought. Peeking outside, she spotted her mischievous toddler, assuming the starter's position and sprinting down the sidewalk stark naked. Luckily, she caught up to him before his wild dash made the neighborhood news.
Toddlers like Dylan are known for their outrageous habits -- from acting like nudists to sticking their finger up their noses, from drinking the bath water to snacking on Fido's food. They play by their own rule books and manage to surprise even the most unflappable parents.
Today, Roberts, mother of three and author of Mommy Confidential: Tales from the Wonderbelly of Motherhood, laughs when she thinks of Dylan's antics as a toddler.
"He was a combination of a leprechaun and a Tasmanian devil," she recalls. "Once in a while he'd just stop what he was doing and run in circles, screaming at the top of his lungs, and then go back to whatever he was doing. He knows he's pushing you to the limit."
That's because toddlers are like cavemen, says Harvey Karp, MD, a pediatrician and author of The Happiest Toddler on the Block. He also has a DVD of the same name. "They spit and scratch when they are angry," he says. "They pee in the living room. They pick their nose. They put food in their hair. They'll suddenly shriek out of nowhere, even in a crowded place."
Toddlers live in the right side of the brain, Karp says, which is the impulsive, emotional, and nonverbal side; the left side is the impulse-control center.
"All of us shut off our left brain when we get upset," he says. "We become less eloquent, less patient, less logical. We call that 'going ape.' Toddlers start out 'ape,' and when they get upset, they really go Jurassic on you. They turn into these primitive little cavemen."
"Uh-oh," she thought. Peeking outside, she spotted her mischievous toddler, assuming the starter's position and sprinting down the sidewalk stark naked. Luckily, she caught up to him before his wild dash made the neighborhood news.
Toddlers like Dylan are known for their outrageous habits -- from acting like nudists to sticking their finger up their noses, from drinking the bath water to snacking on Fido's food. They play by their own rule books and manage to surprise even the most unflappable parents.
Today, Roberts, mother of three and author of Mommy Confidential: Tales from the Wonderbelly of Motherhood, laughs when she thinks of Dylan's antics as a toddler.
"He was a combination of a leprechaun and a Tasmanian devil," she recalls. "Once in a while he'd just stop what he was doing and run in circles, screaming at the top of his lungs, and then go back to whatever he was doing. He knows he's pushing you to the limit."
Toddler Social Development: The Antics Are Normal
That's because toddlers are like cavemen, says Harvey Karp, MD, a pediatrician and author of The Happiest Toddler on the Block. He also has a DVD of the same name. "They spit and scratch when they are angry," he says. "They pee in the living room. They pick their nose. They put food in their hair. They'll suddenly shriek out of nowhere, even in a crowded place."
Toddlers live in the right side of the brain, Karp says, which is the impulsive, emotional, and nonverbal side; the left side is the impulse-control center.
"All of us shut off our left brain when we get upset," he says. "We become less eloquent, less patient, less logical. We call that 'going ape.' Toddlers start out 'ape,' and when they get upset, they really go Jurassic on you. They turn into these primitive little cavemen."
