KELLY BROWN Mum's the Word...The art of having a tantrum: the '˜terrible twos' phase has begun

I think toddlers must have some kind of terrible-twos switch '“ and I'd like to turn it off, please.

My little man is usually such a little angel. So happy and willing to do as he is told – and he has no problems with eating or getting dressed in the morning.

Well, it has now been a month since his second birthday and I’m convinced some kind of automated timer switch must have activated, because all of a sudden my little boy has discovered the art of having a tantrum.

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Now I will say on the whole my son is still extremely good, which is what makes it more of drama when he does play up.

But a couple of times a week he has started to test the boundaries with a tantrum or two if he doesn’t get his own way or doesn’t want to do something.

It’s only silly little things which seem to spiral out of control in his little world.

‘Don’t want my socks on, mummy’, or ‘don’t want a sandwich’ have become among the regulars, as well as ‘want to watch Bob the Builder’.

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Now my husband and I said from the start that when and if the terrible twos kicked in, we would be strong and would not give in to him.

And so far we have been really good and stuck to our guns.

But it is heartbreaking to sit there while your child – who is clearly hungry – is refusing to eat because he hasn’t been given his favourite food.

The only two comforts have been knowing I am not alone.

Firstly comfort in numbers! I was talking to my friend the other day who also has a two-year-old and she had the heartbreak of her little boy in tears, pleading for an ice cream which he was not allowed to have because he refused to eat any of his lunch.

And secondly, knowing in the long run our refusal to give in to tantrums will (I hope) pay off when he realises he won’t get his own way.

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We always make him say sorry and he will give in eventually (yesterday it was after 40 minutes) but it really is a new challenge and I just hope this stage has a limited life-span.

But I really do want to know when the batteries on the terrible-twos button will run out!

* Watching the skies

My wardrobe is confused – and so is my garden.

Last week it was T-shirts and sunglasses. And this week I think I will have to dig out my woolly hat!

Trust the UK to have hot sunshine one week and freezing cold weather the next.

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On Monday my washing had frost on it in the morning. It was the last thing I expected to see.

And pretty soon I will have to start playing the annual washing Russian roulette game in the mornings as I guess whether or not it will really rain during the day.

At the weekend I intended to cut back the last of my summer garden only to discover my roses were budding again and my climbers were sprouting new strands.

As for knowing what to wear in the morning I totally give up. Yesterday the weather looked terrible when I left the house so I made sure I had my big warm coat – only for it to be really warm and sunny in the afternoon. I give up!

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Layers is the only way to go I think at this time of year. At least then you can’t get totally caught out.

Still I look forward to a bit more consistent weather when I don’t have to pack my bag with sunglasses, scarf and extra cardie.