Why Do The Terrible 2's Always Start Before 2??

I have the dubious privilege of parenting 2 girls who both started the Terrible Two's before 18 months.

I remember Beth started saying NO at about that age.

So we sent her to childcare.

(Just kidding. The official reason is that we sent her to childcare because I went back to work, and we felt she would receive the appropriate stimulation at childcare rather than with the maid.)

J has just hit 17 months.

At playgroup yesterday, I was publicly humiliated when in the middle of storytime with the kiddies, J decided MY FUNNY FAMILY was her book exclusively, shouted NO! as I was doing lift-the-flap with Maddie, and snatched the book away.

Deafening silence as 5 pairs of parental eyes fixed on us.

The horror.

A tug-of-war ensued, with the sorry result that one page was torn.

Must remember to sticky-tape it back.

Did I also mention J has the habit of pushing Beth off whenever she sees Beth come to me for a cuddle?

I always thought the firstborn would be the more aggressive one, but J has proved us wrong.