# 2 year old mouthing off to strangers



## HopelessRomantic0989 (Jul 30, 2011)

When my husband and I take our two year old daughter to the store, she yells at people and says, "Hey!" or "No!" She is really rude to them. I feel so bad about it. I think that she got it from her uncle and aunties. The oldest is 20 and the youngest is 9. I have 1 brother and 4 sisters. They often argue like your average siblings do. I try to teach my little girl that it's not nice to talk like that to people and I try to use the simplest terms possible since using long sentences can confuse her. 

I don't know how to get through to her and I know that she is only two and that most likely she is playing around with the people she says it to but I have no idea! I'm always so embarrassed! She also does this to my husband and I and our family. We don't spoil her with toys or give her whatever she wants. We do spoil her with attention though. I constantly play with her and spend time with her. We are together all day since I'm a stay at home mommy. 

Has anyone else had this problem? Your advice would be much appreciated!!! <3


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## F-102 (Sep 15, 2010)

Yes, my younger brother would do that, and everyone would laugh and say "How cute!"

It's a wonder he didn't wind up in jail later.


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## Homemaker_Numero_Uno (Jan 18, 2011)

Does she do it to everyone in public or just seemingly random people. Kids can be tuned into people and it's possible these people have done or are thinking aobut doing something that they shouldn't be doing, or truly need to be woken up with a 'Hey!'

At least when it comes to being loud and obnoxious appropriately she won't have any issues in defending her boundaries. I would not shed an entirely negative light on this behavior but try to figure out more when it happens and the character of the people she approaches. Let other people interact with her when she does that by use of body language to communicate to them that an interchange is acceptable. It would be healthy for a positive adult to ask her, "No what? What did I do? Tell me?" or to say, "I am shopping and I am going to put this in my cart and pay for it so that I can make waffles for my children. What do you have in your cart that you are going to eat at home?" If you just apologize for her straightaway then she is not getting any natural consequences from her behavior, which some people are perfectly willing to give, given the opportunity and the nonverbal go-ahead from you.

I usually check the mom. Yesterday I was at a chuck-E-Cheese and sitting doing some budgeting while my kids were playing on the games (they're old enough to stay together and let me know where they are...there were a lot of staffers and a summer camp so counselors there patrolling...even better than usual!) and I felt a tug on my blouse. I turned to see if my child was trying to get my attention and it was a cute little girl with blond curls about 2 years old looking up at me smiling. The mom apologized, but I just smiled at the little girl and said hello, did you want to see my face? She put her hand up so I looked at the mom and then I held the child's hand briefly. It was okay. That is the way the child wanted to say hello to me. There was another mom sitting nearby and she was doing the same as me, hanging out while our kids played...so we exchanged a smile because we were same ethnicity and similar looks and situation. So if you go to the store and you see someone not behaving properly, you might not say 'No' to them but you might give them a look of disapproval or if someone interested you, you might not say 'Hey' but you might make a point to push your cart by them to see if they are interesting close up. You just don't notice this behavior in yourself because it is more or less normalized to adult subtlety. 

Negative reactions are more easily recognized in a child than positive or neutral, also it's calling attention to you and might make you uncomfortable as most of us when out in public would just like to comfortably blend in.


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## michzz (Jun 6, 2008)

2-year-olds have zero impulse control and need a lot of attention.

If they've found out that negative attention is all they get, they quickly focus on getting that.


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## HopelessRomantic0989 (Jul 30, 2011)

My 2 year old will say "No" to anyone haha. Even a sweet old lady or a nice smiling cashier. She also says this to kids. She gets mad when she sees a baby and she can't take them home. 

My husband and I give her a lot of positive attention but I think that she may want more attention than we give her. Sometimes I need to relax after a long day with her. I try and read a book, quickly check my Facebook to see how my family and friends are doing, or surf the internet. 

I should ask her why she does it though. I explain to her that it isn't nice to talk to people like that. I know that she isn't mean. It's just a stage.

My husband and I have to discipline her often. I put her in time-out for 2 minutes...I go by her age. She cries and calls for me. After the two minutes are over, I explain to her why I had to put her in time-out. Most of the time we have to discipline her because she hits my husband and I or she yells at us. When she wants her cuppy or a snack she says, "Mommy. I want my cuppy" with an attitude. I tell her, "Say I want my cuppy please" like a nice princess"

She has a huge attitude problem. She is kind of mean to other children her age. In the nursery at church she loves this little girl and she shares her toys with her but the other kids, she hits them or pushed them and says, "No!" She hugs that little girl though. There is also another little girl who is her best-friend. They love each other! They love to play together. On her birthday when she saw her best-friend she went up to her and they kissed and hugged and went to play haha I don't understand it one bit.


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