Terrible Two's.....please help me!!

DD2 just turned 2 and a half a couple of days ago, she has been in the "terrible two's" now for about 8 months (started bad tantrums before she turned 2). She seems to be getting worse and not better, DD1 chucked tantrums at the same age but no where near as bad.

DD2 is like a ticking time bomb, it doesn't take much to set her off and once she starts, the crying, kicking and screaming can last an hour. My Paed reckons just ignore her and that she will eventually grow out of it but I wanted to know if any of you had any ideas/tips on how I can handle the tantrums?

For example: this afternoon we had to go to school to pick DD1 up. Its a very busy road and I was pushing DD3 in the stroller and trying to hold DD2's hand at the same time. I tried to explain to her that she needed to hold my hand coz there were lots of cars etc but everytime I tried to hold her hand she would just drop to the ground and start kicking and screaming.....this is very hard to deal with when I am trying to push the stroller and I can see everyone looking and hear people saying look at that little brat. She is a very independent two year old and very stubborn!

I wouldn't worry too much about what other people are thinking! They could well be saying "There's a great mum having trouble with a two year old. How normal!" Before you get too concerned I would:
Check her food intake- quality and quantity
Assess her sleep- is she getting enough at night and resting during the day
Call your state's parenting help line and have a talk with them.
These are my three points that I look at for issues.
Maybe her behaviour can be explained or it could be completely normal, so I would talk to someone other than your pead who is giving you a brush off if you have approached him/her with concerns.

Hugs I know how you are feeling! I had dd2 out on Tuesday and was taking her for a haircut, she had a tantrum as I made her hold my hand when we went across the pedistrian crossing. She dropped to the floor and was screaming. Nothing I could do but wait it out. People had to walk around her and she wouldn't calm down to get her hair cut.

Dont worry about what others think just let her get it out then get down to her level and ask her to talk about it - eg what's wrong, what do you want. I ask for a cuddle too.

In dd's case it has been made worse by teething she is getting three of her two year old molars at once and she is having trouble sleeping and eating.

Hope you can work out the reason she is behaving that way.

Leigh, sorry to hear your having a hard time. Rebecca is also stubborn however she doesnt carry on for ages. Whats her vocab like? Fotunately for me bec can verbalise what she wants pretty quick smart so we can deal with it pretty quickly. Im also one for getting down on her level and seeing whats going on..... or I just leave her! Not that you can do that in the middle of the street. Hopefully she grows out of this stage pretty quick for you. its hard when you have 3 little ones. Sorry Im not too much help but big hugs and good luck.

Thanks ladies, she has been quite good since I posted. The day that I posted about her I did have to wake her to go pick DD1 up from school so that obviously didn't help. Plus she then told me that night that she had a sore throat and was a bit sick for a few days after. She is the middle child so I know sometimes she carries on a bit if I'm busy with bub or trying to do homework with DD1. I am going to start writing down what she eats & see if I can pick up on anything that may trigger the tantrums. I also think that DD2 knows I get stressed in public when she carries on & she feeds off that even more.

Black-Rose, I'm glad someone else's child did the same as my DD2 with the pedestrian crossing lol. It's awful when it's happening though hey.