Book 23: Your Two-Year Old: Terrible or Tender by Louise Bates-Ames, Ph.D

Format:  Paperback
Date Started:  May 27, 2019
Date Finished:  June 3, 2019

My mother has this entire series of books which she acquired as my brother and I grew.  The covers of her books, though, are super 80s, and I am jealous.  However, it wasn't until I was teaching school in a former life that I realized how useful these were.  I was having trouble with a 10 year old boy, and I couldn't decide if his behavior was developmentally appropriate or he was just a . . . let's say JERK.  I borrowed Mom's copy of Your Ten-Year-Old and discovered that the kid was just a JERK. 

What I did find useful then and what is incredibly useful to me now are the techniques and explanation of what a child is experiencing emotionally and mentally.  It's incredibly helpful to have reassurance that bouts of being a JERK are normal for a two year old, and that it is relatively a short amount of time in this phase. 

This book is also unintentionally hysterical because it was written in the 1970s and is horribly sexist.  My personal favorite is a bit about maybe a child would like to help Father put on his slippers when he arrives home while Mother prepares dinner. 

However, the title of the next book is "Your Three-Year-Old: Friend or Enemy."  So, there's that.