It is really hard. My son has moments that push me to the brink. One thing I use is the time out. Sometimes he just gets so upset and out of control he needs a minute in his crib to find the handle again. Once he calms down I go get him and we sit and rock for a minute and I tell him how much I love him and then we try to find something else to do. Keep trying different things. They don't call it the terrible twos for nothing!

I am having a similar hardship with my two year old twins. I have been afraid to put them in time out or in their crib because I didn't want them to feel punished. But when I get to my breaking point and snap at them that can't be any better. I have been working so hard to teach them about using their words, taking deep breaths, all of those important things, and I am just not seeing the pay off yet. This morning I really needed to clean our house, and they have zero patience for this- which I suspect is normal developmentally..but goodness- the screeching! Know that you are not alone. My plan is to keep working to give them tools to deal with frustration, and to work on myself. I think I need a break! Going to try to start scheduling regular relaxation for myself so I don't get to my breaking point so quickly. Good luck to us all- this can be a truly difficult time!

Thanks ladies! I really appreciate your feedback and support.

I haven't been on in a while ladies but I'm with you on this!

My little son who is not yet 2 is really pushing those boundaries at the moment.

Jess - you mentioned the screeching, this is latest thing and I can't begin to tell you how it actually hurts my ears, it is so high pitched. He does it when people are here, when he just doesn't want to do something and it gets louder and sharper...I'm at my wits end really.

He has had some really good and bad moments over the last while and we thought he was coming out of it all but the screeching has just set everything off.

We are also going through a phase of such bad behaviour when we go out or people come to visit. Anyone else experiencing this?

Check my reply to please help. Good luck

My daughter has screeched since she was about 5 months old. The loudest most obnoxious, ear piercing screech I have ever heard. When she was under a year old she would do it about ever 60 seconds. We nicknames her "Sonar"
I believe I have hearing loss now for listening to it for almost a year straight, We couldnt take my daughter anywhere without people staring at us or making faces at her squeal. It sounds funny as I talk about it now, but my husband and I were so stressed most days we would end up crying over it. It really left us with feelings of inadequacy and resentment towards one another because it was hard to enjoy all those "baby" moments with her because of the screaming.
Now that she is older, can speak to me and understand most commands, the screeching has toned down. But don't worry...when she gets mad WATCH OUT cuz the scream is louder and more high pitched than ever because she forces it out with all her might! She silenced a loud restaurant one evening with that screech, it was the most embarrasing thing ive ever experienced to hear people across the restaurant say "what the heck was that?"
I am freaking out about her turning "2" because I am worried the screaming will become a daily thing again and I am truly enjoying her right now and the peace and quiet and the quiet babbling she does constantly.

Also to comment on JessAm- I think time outs are the best way to go at this age. I do them with my daughter and I put her on a rug by the front door and make her sit there for exactly 1 minute. The reason we chose not to put her in the crib is because I didn't want her to confuse "discipline" with "sleepytime". It took her all of 3 timeouts and she had it figured out. After the one minute I come sit next to her and calmly explain what she did wrong and ask her to hug me and say "sorry" she has done so well with this as a form of discipline. I wouldnt worry about thinking of it as a punishment, there has to be some consistent form of behavior modification done so they can learn limits and boundaries.

The twos are fun. My son will be 3 in March.
When they are that age, they can't control their emotions and the sheer amount of anger they feel scared because of it. Helping them find a safe place to let their emotions out is good.
My son uses his room, immediately when the fit starts he goes to his room or somewhere he can scream and let it out without causing a lot of anguish for everyone around.
I also make my son give everyone a hug that saw the fit and tell them he's sorry. This actually helps A LOT. The biggest fit he threw was a camping trip with my whole family (about 30 people). It was a terrible storm outside the huge tent and we were all huddled together. He threw the biggest fit, it lasted about 45 minutes. My whole family kept mouthing to me asking if I wanted help. I didn't have a safe place so I held him tight. After the fit was finally over, he had to apologize to everyone. Since then his fits are much better controlled and they last a minute or two. He immediately goes to the hug and says he's sorry. I hope this helps!
FYI, my son is 2 1/2.