Everyone Warned Me About The 'Terrible Twos'. They Couldn't Have Been More Wrong

Joyful? Yes. Hilarious? 100%. Terrible? Absolutely not.

Parents editor at HuffPost UK

Most parents have heard a variation on the phrase “Oooh, terrible twos!” uttered with eyebrows raised and a knowing look at their toddler.

In fact, such is the bad rap two-year-olds have that before my eldest had even reached her toddler years, I was extremely nervous about what the age would hold for us. I genuinely thought she was going to morph into some nightmarish, uber-emotional hellbat on her second birthday.

But, two kids later (and having met my fair share of two-year-olds in the process), I have to say: two is perhaps my favourite age.

So, I’m here to bang the drum for a rebrand of ‘terrible twos’ to ‘terrific twos’.

Why are they called the ‘terrible twos’, anyway?

The ‘terrible twos’ descriptor largely stems from the fact previously-compliant babies grow up and become louder, more mobile and in need of independence – but they’re obviously still very little, so can’t have full autonomy over every little thing.

“Around this age, children are beginning to realise they are their own person with their own thoughts, preferences and opinions,” Dr Sasha Hall, a senior educational and child psychologist, told me. “It becomes the ‘me do it’ stage. They want........

© HuffPost