27 months

We've all heard about the terrible twos ..  But I didn't know that means that my baby would regress back to his hitting and scratching ways. And not to mention his nightly unwillingness to sleep in his room and the waking up in the middle of the night. (On the last point, it could be because we have changed night duties where I would do the reading instead of Ah Pa.. So I will try to rough it out for another week or so.) 

Last week, he hit some kids, this week he scratched two teacher , yesterday he tore a book .. All despite punishment and coaching by teacher and at home. While his eloquence has increased by leaps and bounds, his understanding of boundaries has been lack lustre. 

Given that Ah Pa and I were not always home and the grandparents tend to give in to his whims and fancy , I think it's hard for him to even know what his true boundaries are. Even if he has some inkling, enforcement is not consistent. 

I don't know how to deal with it as yet -  most books point out some useful methods but they never say what happens if you can't enforce consistency by caretakers. Also, as we were not at the crime scene, the ability to impose clear consequences is also limited. Post facto, I don't really know how much he will understand if we punish him thereafter. 

Having said all that, he's still a sweet boy overall. That day I had gastrics , I was putting my hand on my tummy and fake groaning in pain in front of him. He hurried over to pat my shin (don't ask me why) and then my tummy in a concerned fashion. 

Ah Po said that her watch would be spoilt by him and he generously volunteered to buy her one with his money. 

All in , he's an astute little boy who knows who to look for to get his way and how to throw a good tantrum. As such, we need to figure out how to tame his wilful ways and bring out the best in him.