young kids rebelling

[jpswifey07]

My DH is guard but since he has joined he has only spent about 5 months at home. When he left for boot last year our son was only 9 months, well now that DH is out on deployment, our son was 18 months when he left and now he is rebelling so bad, he doesnt listen to anyone he is mean to his little brother and nothing seems to help him calm down except talking to his daddy on cam. Does anyone have any advice?

[jukaufma]

no but i know what you're going through. i nanny a 2yr old boy, a 3yr old boy, and a 5yr old girl and their dad is on deployment and has been since march. and they are so bad now and the 3yr old always starts crying and saying " I miss my daddy" when he's bad. i know how important it is for them to talk to their dad but for me, it makes it so much worse because i think it reminds them how far away their dad is! (not that i am for a second advocating for stopping communication. i'm just saying that they're always especially troublesome after that happens)

[Cat]

I think this is true for alot of kids. I am sure that some kids might even think their daddy left because of something they did which of course isnt the case, but my son has some of the same problems awhile back when his daddy left for just a week. Now that he is a bit older its not as bad, he still has his moments too. But the week that my husband left for 1 week was early last year when I was still working and when I dropped off my son and walked out he went nuts. I guess he thought I was going to leave him too. So I do feel you on this. Its alot harder when the little ones that are really young cant express themselves to let you know what they are feeling too.

[OneBoyOneGirl]

no advise really. kids do that maybe try talking to him and explaining what daddy is doing and stuff? my dogs do that lol.

[jukaufma]

mine knows where his daddy is. as he puts it, "he's off fighting the bad guys". And now, my bf has left (army too) and so to the 3 yr old, he just assumes they're together and that Seth is off fighting bad guys with his daddy. i just wish they didn't express their anguish of being left by hitting me and acting out. do you have the same sort of problems jpswifey07? or are yours different?

[jpswifey07]

My 2 year old is constantly acting out. He has some really good days where I don't have to say much to him and he is good but most of the time he is hitting me or his little brother, throwing things, or breaking things. I have explained to him where and what his daddy is doing and he tells people "my daddy is in Iraq" and he also talks to him on the webcam and on the phone. But i think the constant coming home and leaving has really affected my oldest. I just wish there was more I could do for him!

[jukaufma]

Originally Posted by jpswifey07 My 2 year old is constantly acting out. He has some really good days where I don't have to say much to him and he is good but most of the time he is hitting me or his little brother, throwing things, or breaking things. I have explained to him where and what his daddy is doing and he tells people "my daddy is in Iraq" and he also talks to him on the webcam and on the phone. But i think the constant coming home and leaving has really affected my oldest. I just wish there was more I could do for him!

I totally understand. I think the 2yr old that I watch is just too young to understand (he just turned two at the end of june) but the 3 yr old was super close to his dad and I just can't control him anymore. he hits and kicks and spits. that's the worst. everytime he spits on me i just want to rip his tongue out (*whew... deep breath... breathe in, breathe out* i get mad even thinking about it now) and i really do feel bad for him but missing his dad isn't an excuse to beat me up! (he has the same trouble as yours, he takes it out on his little brother too). i just wish i could make him understand that his daddy will be home soon and that if he treated me better, we could make it a whole lot more fun while his daddy was gone cos i'm sure sitting in time out is not particularly fun all the time.