What a fantastic story! I have encountered this too, when babysitting for a friend. Her daughter has waist-length hair and she was not letting me brush it. To my surprise, she got most of the tangles out without hurting herself so I hardly had to do anything :) My nephew is 20 months old and every time I go round to see my brother, he has learned a new word. Last weekend it was "a" -prior to that he just used the noun eg "cat", now everything has "a" -so "a cat". So adorable and so clever!

Two year olds are so much fun - hard work sometimes, but heaps of fun. You need a lot of patience to deal with their independence and 'I do it', especially when you're in a hurry. I think they are at their most affectionate at 2, always giving hugs and kisses.

Great story - I relate to the antics. Often I think you have a split second to decide if you will laugh, cry or yell at what you're faced with. I'm happy to say that in my experience it's much easier to laugh with your 2nd child than your 1st. By the time my 3rd boy is 2 I'll be pulling out the video camera and posting on youtube!?

What a neat story! Go Finn!

You could be talking about my very own 2.8 year old twin daughters. They can do anything. The world is their oyster. Regardless of what Mummy thinks. They ADORE washing their hands by themselves (including soap, and drying their hands on the towel). Heaven forbid you try to help them go to the toilet by helping them remove their knickers too. Your peaceful world is shattered by cries of "No mummy, MY do it!! Don't DO that Mummy!!"

The wondrous world of independent children.

What fun! I really impressed that your two year old wants to do all these things and that you let him. My 3 year old boy is the most beautifully behaved child but sometimes I think that a little bit more independence and "I do it" wouldn't go amiss. Perhaps his little 15 month old brother might teach him a thing or two about mischief making:-)

What a gorgeous story. My wee boy (17 months) is very independent. He can't yet say "I do it" but there's no mistaking that's what he means. If he is refusing to eat his porridge, I ask him if he wants to do it himself. He gives a big grin and says "Ba" and then will quite happily eat the whole lot (slightly messier than when I'm feeding him!).

I can so relate to this post. Mr just turned two is heavily into "do it yourself" - as he hasn't quite got the language concept of me or I. So everything is either "do it yourself" or "help Mummy" which generally involves the dragging of a chair to a bench while I make lunch or dinner. He is also becoming quite dictatorial so everything he does becomes "Mummy [run/skip/jump/fall over] too!" Fall over must look hilarous to onlookers in Wellington Civic Square when a woman in a full suit, high heels and full makeup gets down and rolls around on the ground!

Oh I love two year olds, they are like happy little drunks running round your house to make you laugh. I think of them as terrific two's and not terrible at all. I used baby sign language with my son and this was great when he was two as there are some words they don't want to or can't say at two but they can sign, like "help" and "sorry". And if you struggle with a two year old you better brace yourself because four year olds are hideous!

We also seem to have got an independent one. Always wants to help with anything the grown ups are doing, takes my hand away when I try to help him with anything, and is always saying "I'll do it all by myself Daddy". I'm so proud of him for wanting to be his own man.