Baby Gators Den

Threenage Love #threenager

I wasn’t expecting my son to get irrational and so full of angst until he was at least 14. Ok, maybe 12. But three? Seems a little early to me.

Until I asked around to my other parent friends and guess what? Three is worse than two. Terrible twos? I call B.S. on that. Threenagers are where it is at.

I don’t remember where I first heard the term threenager but it has become my motto for describing my son’s attitude. Three-years-old and he might as well be wearing all black and listening to Nirvana in his room alone. (It has obviously been a long time since I was a teenager so I have no clue what angsty teens listen to in their rooms nowadays while lamenting how hard their life is- just play along with me here).

I’m pretty sure that three might be the best time of your life. No worries in the world, right? Except my threenager wants the curtains CLOSED when I go to wake him up for preschool playgroup twice a week, complaining that he wants to stay in his pajamas and sleep (so do I, kid). When I drove him home from playgroup yesterday and asked him what he did in school today he said “NUFFIN. Quit talking.” When he doesn’t get his way he tells me he doesn’t love me, only his Dad and Rex the dog (if Dad doesn’t give him what he wants he will easily use the same hurtful line).

On the flip side, threenage love can be the best thing ever. Only minutes after throwing himself on the floor for giving him a snack (that he requested) he will say, out of the blue, “Mom I love you.” At the dinner table he will ask his Dad “how was your day at work?” If Sidney drops her binky he will pick it up and hand it to her, saying “here you go Sidney Girl.”

Last night’s threenage love moment made my heart explode. Every night while tucking him in I say “I love you to the moon and back.” I’ve said it since the day he was born and I would read (through tears) the book  I Love You Forever while rocking him to sleep. He usually says “I love you too” but last night he looked back at me and said “I love you to the sun and frontwards.”

Three-years-old might be the best age yet. I love him to the sun and frontwards.

Comments

  1. Your line about Nirvana was hilarious, I have no idea what angst ridden teen listen to these days either! My older son is will be 3 in June and I pick up on this kind of attitude all the time. And forget asking if he wants to potty… But you’re right, they’re totally bipolar at this age and the “I love yous” are worth dealing with the attitude.

  2. I found three way worse than two, and girls (so far) seven sucks. I love the term threenager, another one I heard and meant a lot to me because I worked in the ghetto for so long is pros-ti-tot, little girls dressed like floozies

  3. This is so funny!! Three is much worse than two! No one ever warns you! They are lucky they are so cute,…and yes, know how to be sweet when they want to be!

  5. to the sun & frontwards — adorable!! That is one of my favorite books as well, and I can’t wait to read it to my little man in the future 🙂

  7. Love this post. My boys were very similar. We skipped terrible twos and we had attitude in the threes. We still blow kisses every night and now they describe how big it is. Last nights kiss was “bigger than plant Earf” – then we tuck them in our hearts for safekeeping.

  8. Uncle Dave & I LOVE threenager…remember, he’s also a Douglas which adds another huge layer to his personality 🙂 xoxo

  9. This is HYSTERICAL!!! I will say that three for me was a lot easier than two but this can all change with the second! We got hit with terrible twos with H for a long time and once she hit three, it was good. Zane at 2 is hard!

  10. I love you to the sun and frontwards? Totally in tears for you.
    This post is amazing- kids say the funniest things and when they’re so insightful (even though they can hurt), it’s a total reflection on how amazing his parents are. He’s a smarty, loves his family and has a lot of confidence.
    As a side note… In those rough times, it’s a good thing you can still pick up a threenager 🙂

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