Terrible two-year-old

[ferret88]

Lil' Ferret turns 2 on 09AUG07. I need some advice folks.

I know it comes with the (age) territory, but she's at the stage wherein she is testing her bounds and limits. The current major issue is that she just up-and-decides she's done eating and announces the fact by chukking whatever's left in front of her onto the floor.

My initial reaction is to want to smack her and let-forth with the expletives. What really happens after I take a deep breath, is this: If I can grab a hand, gunked up as it may be, I try to swat that and let her know in loud voice "We don't throw our food on the floor! If you're done, say'Done, Daddy.'" Then she gets put into timeout (which is comprised of a square made from portable baby fence and is located in the living room.) I then clean up her mess and rescue her after she's had time to take off her socks (which is the first thing she always does in timeout.)

Any of you Parental Units have suggestions about how to best deal with this? How long does this last?