Screaming, crying, kicking, and biting…

That’s exactly what my 2-year old does. How true when people coined the term “terrible two’s!"

Whenever I go against K’s will, he will throw tantrums like crazy.

For example, he wants to eat something but being turned down. Or he wants to stay longer in the bathroom but being cut short.

I will be the best person to ask if you want to know the true meaning of terrible two’s.

When he has temper tantrums, nothing can stop him. Not even when his request is fulfilled.

This has become worse after our trip recently.

Before things get out of hand, I’d better look out for some solutions.

My daddy and mommy took me and my sister for a vacation in Kota Kinabalu (adults call it KK), Sabah, Malaysia. It was my first time on a plane.

To try to jot down this wonderful (sometimes scary) experience, I have written a chronicle of events of the trip.

I have written about my son’s developments in other two posts: 20-month old and 19-month .

As I said before, not to show off anything nor to compare. It’s more for my own record as of what K can do so that I can refer to it when the need arises. It’s for fun more than anything else.

I can see the enormous improvement in my daughter, J, during our monthly hiking trip last weekend.

J is shy and introvert by nature. But in this trip, she opened up like I never see before.

A Great Weekend Getaway - Christmas Run

Since this was a Christmas run, the hiking club invited a clown to entertain the kids. They danced, they played and they watched magic show.

The highlight was Santa Claus presenting gifts to all the kids there. In actual fact, this was pre-arranged. Parents had bought gifts before coming to the trip. The gifts were given to Santa and he distributed the gifts as though the presents were from him.

To be honest, I am not a big fan of baby photo contests or any other contests for that matter.

But a recent event changed my perception. Thank to my dearest wife. This is what happened.

When my wife asked me whether “we” should enter a cutest baby contest organized by her employer, without a doubt, I only gave her a lukewarm response.

Why? For some reason, I stay away from any contests. I hardly participate in any except once the Reader’s Digest’s “Win-a-Car” contest many years back. Remember the paper car key that really looked like the real one? Even that I stopped half way as it required too much effort on my part. I just don’t get the kick out of contests.

Reading is one of the most important habits we can pass down to our children. Early exposure to books is essential.

As for my preschooler, J, she was presented with different kinds of books from when she was a baby to what she is today. From flash cards to cardboard books, from puzzle books to short story books.

We make it a routine to read together before sleep. Recently, what surprised me was she could read (in fact, memorize) a story. We used to read to her this story but this time around, she read it to us instead. She could read the book (even though without knowing the words) because she has read the book for gazillion times.

“I don’t want to go to library.”

That was the reply I received when I asked my daughter about our plan to a local library.

I was shocked to hear the answer as J was totally enjoying herself in the last trip.

As a natural response, after getting such an unexpected reply from her, I was planning to give her a list of 101 reasons why libraries were good and she should change her mind.

Fortunately, I didn’t. Instead, I probed further.

Time is a rare commodity for today’s parents.

Most parents leave the house early in the morning and only come home with a tired body late at night – leaving no time for kids. Ironically, kids want nothing but time from parents. Time to play and time to connect.

Is it too much to ask for for a kid?

Are you one of the parents who find no time for kids? Then you should stop and ask yourself this question:

What am I busy for? Am I having the priorities right?

Okay, let's do something about it. Listen to what this mother has to say about making time for kids. If a mother of 9 children can have spare time for her kids, I think you can do the same too. Of course, much easily.

When my children paid a visit to their grandparents last weekend, we didn't do much as it was a short trip. The kids had only 2 days, 1 night to spend.

To best make use of the trip, I tried to get the kids to bond and hopefully form a closer relationship with my parents and siblings, whom they only meet once every few months.

Of course, playing with kids was one of the ways. But there’s one problem. It took a while for the kids to “warm-up” and accept my parents as playmates. Furthermore, my folks can't match the grandchildren’s enthusiasm.

Fortunately, I found a better idea: watching home made videos.

To add to my list of skills of a 19-month, here is an update on what my 20 months old son, K, can do:

• Sweet sound of “Mommy” – Just last Friday, he managed to call “Mommy” and “Daddy” correctly. All this while, he used to call us “Mama” and “Papa.” Only one-syllable words he could master then.

• “Read this book for me” – Before last night, K was not interested in sitting down quietly and “read” a book. Let alone flipping through page by page. For some reason (Maybe the interest spills over after he sees us reading together with his elder sister almost every night. He wants to be part of it), he asked me to “go through” a book with him last night. What he can do now is to recognize some pictures and say the words out. Such as “dog”, “car”, “shoes”, and so on.

• Simple communication – K can tell us something without saying the words. He will use sign language to communicate what he wants and doesn’t want. Such as “Mommy gave me this bread.” – while he’s pointing at the bread.

• Getting violent – If someone blocks his way or stops him from getting a toy he aims at getting, he’d hit or bite! Not sure where he learns from but definitely it’s not from me.

That’s it. A pretty short list, right? But it’s already quite a lot to achieve within a month...for a toddler.