My angry 2 year old.

My son is 2 going on 3 in September and we can't figure out why he is so angry. He is the angriest at me and I am his mom. He hits me, kicks me, makes a fist and threatens to punch me and screams at me. Yes, we do yell in the house when he has taken us to our very limits but who doesn't? We are not big believers in spanking, so what are we doing wrong? Not spanking him?

When I was nursing him, and I did this for 14 months, he loved me. He couldn't be without me. I couldn't leave the room without him exploding with fear and anxiety. Then, he became independent of me and moved on to a sippy cup. Suddenly, his daddy was his hero and wanted nothing to do with me. One month later, I got pregnant with our second. We kept him in the loop of his impending big brotherhood. He would kiss and hug my belly. He would tell his brother that he loved him through my belly. Before he knew it, his brother was here and there was certainly a shift in attention. The baby demanded a lot of my attention and his daddy was his primary go to parent for a little while. His anger certainly escalated at this time. He didn't like anyone but me giving his brother attention. If his daddy was holding his brother than all hell would break loose. He loves his daddy so much and he would try to pry his brother out of his daddy's arms at the expense of his brother's health and safety.

We hope that this is a phase but it worries us. It makes me especially sad when he mistreats me and wants nothing to do with me. I know....he is 2. Is this the terrible 2's or is this a prelude to something worse?

The thing is, he is a wonderful boy. He is sweet and loving and kind and plays well with others. I am the one he has set his sights on to mistreat. The minute I wake up in the morning, he is already yelling at me and telling me to go away. If I'm lucky he will hit me in the stomach or kick me. I'm not a big believer in any attention is good attention. It's not!!!!

"Where do I go from here?", I ask myself.

I am not necessarily going to ignore his actions but I am not going to put too much stock in it either. I will watch how he progresses and if it goes away, great. If not, then a visit with his pediatrician will be the way to go.

We'll see...