The Effin' Fours

That's what one of my friends referred to it as. Forget terrible twos. Beware of the effin' fours. (And lest you worry, she really did say "effin'" instead of the real F word). I don't know if any of you have experienced this, but my children were pretty decent kids before and after the age of four. Yes, at two they were more active and testing boundaries, but at least they weren't buttheads. Buttheads that talk back and think they know everything. Buttheads that would rather pitch a fit and argue with you for 30 minutes instead of just do the 4 minute timeout you have given them. Buttheads whose tone (you know the one) and scowl greet you at pretty much every interaction you have. Buttheads who kick, scream, cry, and yell things like, "YOU'RE THE MEANEST MOM EVER!!" when you tell them they can't have the candy in the check-out lane or the dumb plastic hat in the Party America store that looks like a cross between a soccer ball and a bowler hat.

I remember talking to my friend Gretchen when both our eldest were four. She was going to a Discipline Without Damage seminar and would tell me tips they would teach there. It was helpful. I remember her telling me that the majority of the people in there had 4-year-olds. Coincidence? I think not.

I didn't like my oldest when he was four. Now I am having a really hard time liking my current 4-year-old. Let's just say he's in "a stage." I fear the future if this is any taste of what teenage years are going to be like.