I know its cliché but my two-year old is going through that difficult time known as The Terrible Twos.
What does that mean? It means he says no a lot, cries a lot and throws shit fits a lot.
That’s bad enough that we’re at that “natural” stage of his development, but toss in he’s recently been sick (diagnosed with Celiac Disease) and it’s been a hard time. Primarily because it still feels hard to punish him after all he’s been through.
We’ve quickly moved past the stage where we cut him some slack from being sick. The reason for this is even at two years old, the kid knows how to manipulate everyone and so we need to bring down the hammer.
He’s at that wonderful stage where he figures crying will get him whatever he wants. He has the shit-fit down pat. We’re making progress breaking him of the habit but there is still a long way to go.
I know it will be sacrilegious but this is why I like my kids four or older. Yes, I love the baby stage for a while but these early years can be a bitch.
Is there anything more annoying that a child who doesn’t understand the concept of “no” or punishment? You’re completely crippled to do anything about it. Now, my son is quickly learning (they’re smart even at two) the meaning of no and punishment but he’s always pushing.
At two, kids are exerting their independence and their desire to be a person away from their family. At the same time, they cling to the baby days of carry me everywhere, etc. It’s an interesting mix of childhood emotion that can make you smile on a good day and make you go berserk on other days.
I love my kids and they seem to grow up fast once they’re past six or seven. But these first two years go on forever.
As the Director of Social Media at tax giant H&R Block, Scott Gulbransen recently returned to the tax business after previously spending 1o years at rival Intuit working on the TurboTax & Quicken brands. He brings 16 years as a marketing communications professional, and 11 tax seasons, with him to H&R Block and was responsible for the launch of many key social initiatives at Intuit before leaving in 2010. A strategic thinker and business problem solver, Gulbransen has worked for some of the world’s top brands including TurboTax, Sony Online Entertainment, and Applebee’s.
In 2010, Gulbransen became the first Director of Social Media & Digital Content for Applebee’s, creating the first-ever social media strategy for the world’s largest casual dining chain. While at Applebee’s, Gulbransen lead a small but nimble team responsible for creating a robust and far-reaching social engagement channel for Applebee’s and its franchise community.
In addition to his professional accomplishments at the corporate level, Gulbransen is also a prolific blogger recently named as one of the Top 50 Daddy Bloggers in the US by Cision. Gulbransen was ranked #21.
As a member of the TurboTax communications and social media team for 10 years, Scott helped the TurboTax team launch and sustain the brand’s social media platform. He also drove and was responsible for the launch of TurboTax’s successful content strategy, including the launch of the TurboTax Blog. Recently, he launched one of the most significant social media campaigns in the brand’s history with the @TeamTurboTax Twitter project.
Gulbransen was instrumental in reinvigorating the Quicken brand almost entirely through the use of social media and, particularly, Twitter. By engaging with customers and influencers who talk about personal finance on Twitter, he and his team helped Quicken Online grow from just 200,000 users in October 2008 to over 1.4 Million in just 10 months. This led to a more focused look at the personal finance space for Intuit and, ultimately, the acquisition of Mint.com.
A former print journalist, who, after realizing his paychecks from the newspaper industry weren’t going to get much bigger, turned to the Dark Side – public relations. After working in both college athletics and inside mid-size agencies, he joined Intuit in 2000 and Applebee’s in 2010. He is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and is the married father of five kids.
Despite his busy personal and professional life, Scott is a digital native who never strays far from social networking. To hassle Scott, or to tell him how great you think he is (or not!), email him at scott@scottgulbransen.com, add him to your Circles on Google+, or ping him on Twitter at @sdgully. Scott also is an editor and writer for Technorati.com.
For us the “Terribles” began at age 3 but I have boys (Sry you guys are slow.) 3 is a horrible combo of street smarts and illogical preschooler. Mine sucks the life from me daily. Thankfully it seems to get better at 4 so hang in there.
For us the “Terribles” began at age 3 but I have boys (Sry you guys are slow.) 3 is a horrible combo of street smarts and illogical preschooler. Mine sucks the life from me daily. Thankfully it seems to get better at 4 so hang in there.