Hi, this is Janet Landsbury. Welcome to Unruffold. Today I'm responding to a comment from my website

where a parent reacted to an article called, don't leave a testing toddler hanging. And this

mom feels she's constantly being tested by her two boys who are three and a half and 18 months.

She says that when she attempts to set reasonable limits, they usually ignore her. And she's just about

lost her patience. Okay, so here's the comment from my website. Hi, Janet. I'm new to your blog,

podcast and book, but I'm finding everything excellent, helpful, and reassuring. I am a mom to two

young boys three and a half and 19 months. I find myself doubting my every move and decision,

and I feel like I'm messing up most days. I know my boys are testing me constantly, and I'm working

so hard to follow the steps you've outlined. However, my question is, what do you do when they just

don't stop? For example, whether I'm cooking dinner, getting dressed in the morning, doing laundry,

whatever it might be, I'll say, I know you want to be with me right now, but I can't hold, play,

read at this moment. I need you to go play, and I'll be with you very soon. I'll often take them by

the hand or carry them to the area with books, toys, etc. And then return to what I'm doing. Without

skipping a beat, they're back at my side, and the cycle continues. They think it's funny, and I

undoubtedly lose my patience. What do I do in a situation like that? I feel like they just don't

listen to whatever limit I've set. Thank you, Janet, for all the wonderful work you're putting out

there. Parenting is the hardest job in the world. Well, I definitely agree parenting is a very hard

job. It's hard, but it's also so rewarding because there's so much growth in this for us.

There's just so much for us to learn about ourselves and relationships and our own childhoods,

and how to have the most positive relationship with another person. This is of course what we're

striving for. So in this case, this mother is working on setting limits. What I think she's

missing here is that when we have boundaries in a relationship, especially in a relationship where

...