The Trouble With Toddlers

is that they have temper tantrums. Especially my Charlie. My mom tells me repeatedly that I was famous as a child for the size and magnitude of my temper tantrums so I suppose that pay back is fair game. Charlie is amazing. He screams at the top of his lungs, bangs his head into any available hard surface, kicks, hits, etc. I am trying desperately to train him to do the naughty step technique that Super Nanny does. Last night he had an absolute melt down because Sam took one of his toy trains. He knocked Sam to the ground and was smashing his head into the floor when I pulled him off. Of course, a major time out was necessary, so I put him in the naughty chair. (Keep in mind I have dinner on the stove at the same time all of this is going on!) Charlie always gets right back up. You are supposed to just keep putting them back without talking to them until they give up and just stay put. I did this for 20 STRAIGHT MINUTES all the time I am trying not to burn anything, trying to help Evan write an essay for Social Studies, and Sam is crying and now getting a bruise from his head bashing. I finally didn't have time to keep running after him and putting him back, so I put him in his crib thinking that would force him to stay in place. He was so mad he jumped out, off of the railing like Superman and smashed his head into the floor. What in the world do you do with a kid who has more staying power/time/energy than you do? I finally put all of his trains in their case and up on top of the fridge which seemed to make an impression on him. I am truly at my wits end. We are going to replace the door knob on his room this weekend so that it will lock from the outside, and then we can at least put him in his room to calm down, and then he won't be getting attention of any type to reinforce the tantrum. (He has already figured out the toddler proof doorknob safety covers we have.) We are also looking for a set of bunkbeds that detach so that we can get his crib down, since he is going to act like he is a superhero. I have a really bad feeling about this one-the teenage years could be brutal. My brother Ben says it's a good thing we named him Charlie, because Chucky (as in the doll) is such an appropriate nick name!