--- title: "10 Terrible Twos Quotes by 8 authors" description: "Browse 10 Terrible Twos quotes by 8 authors. Discover the best Terrible Twos sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/judith-clabes-250883_women_a-women-who-can-cope-with-the-terrible-t_3085422.jpg" --- > [A Women who can cope with the terrible twos can cope with anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-clabes/a-women-who-can-cope-with-the-terrible-twos-can-cope-with-anything/) [Judith Clabes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-clabes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/judith-clabes-250883_women_a-women-who-can-cope-with-the-terrible-t_3085422.jpg) > [“Whoever came up with the term “terrible twos” must have felt very foolish after their kid turned three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/whoever-came-up-with-the-term-terrible-twos-must-have-felt-very/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcc/jim-gaffigan-580_terrible-twos_whoever-came-up-with-the-term-terrible-t_2170839.jpg) > [Families survive the Terrible Twos because toddlers aren't strong enough to kill with their hands and aren't capable of using lethal weapons.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/families-survive-the-terrible-twos-because-toddlers-aren-t-strong-2/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/paul-bloom-3720_adult_families-survive-the-terrible-twos-becau_2730578.jpg) > [The cliches are all true! My son Max has just turned two, and he's literally turned into this driven young man overnight!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burn-gorman/the-cliches-are-all-true-my-son-max-has-just-turned-two-and-he-s/) [Burn Gorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burn-gorman/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/burn-gorman-38871_around_the-cliches-are-all-true-my-son-max-has_1086983.jpg) > [Families survive the terrible twos because toddlers aren't strong enough to kill with their hands and aren't capable of using lethal weapons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/families-survive-the-terrible-twos-because-toddlers-aren-t-strong/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/paul-bloom-3720_capable_families-survive-the-terrible-twos-becau_41025.jpg) > [“Toddlers are adorable, but taking care of them doesn’t really get easier. Whoever came up with the term “terrible twos” must have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/toddlers-are-adorable-but-taking-care-of-them-doesn-t-really-get/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/jim-gaffigan-580_terrible-twos_toddlers-are-adorable-but-taking-care-of_1106415.jpg) > [“Sounds like someone's hit the terrible twos." "Threes actually," Quil corrected. "You missed the party. Princess theme. She made me wear a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/sounds-like-someone-s-hit-the-terrible-twos-threes-actually-quil/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03b/stephenie-meyer-91_humiliation_sounds-like-someone-s-hit-the-terrible-t_2973633.png) > [The best parenting advice I ever got was from a labor nurse who told me the following: 1. After your baby gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-best-parenting-advice-i-ever-got-was-from-a-labor-nurse-who-told/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/jodi-picoult-45_advice_the-best-parenting-advice-i-ever-got-was_2196091.jpg) > [“...Emily hit the Terrible Twos and I bought a book called Toddler Taming. It was a revelation. The advice on how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-pearson/emily-hit-the-terrible-twos-and-i-bought-a-book-called-toddler-taming/) [Allison Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-pearson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cd/allison-pearson-10663_books_emily-hit-the-terrible-twos-and-i-bought_2027506.jpg) > [“But it is the nature of narcissistic entitlement to see the situation from only one very subjective point of view that says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-hotchkiss/but-it-is-the-nature-of-narcissistic-entitlement-to-see-the-situation/) [Sandy Hotchkiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandy-hotchkiss/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/sandy-hotchkiss-51597_center-of-the-univer_but-it-is-the-nature-of-narcissistic-ent_2138992.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-twos/#itemlist", "name": "Terrible Twos Quotes", "numberOfItems": 10, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A Women who can cope with the terrible twos can cope with anything.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Judith Clabes" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-clabes/a-women-who-can-cope-with-the-terrible-twos-can-cope-with-anything/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/judith-clabes-250883_women_a-women-who-can-cope-with-the-terrible-t_3085422.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/judith-clabes-250883_women_a-women-who-can-cope-with-the-terrible-t_3085422.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/judith-clabes-250883_women_a-women-who-can-cope-with-the-terrible-t_3085422.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A Women who can cope with the terrible twos can cope with anything.” — Judith Clabes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Whoever came up with the term “terrible twos” must have felt very foolish after their kid turned three.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jim Gaffigan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/whoever-came-up-with-the-term-terrible-twos-must-have-felt-very/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcc/jim-gaffigan-580_terrible-twos_whoever-came-up-with-the-term-terrible-t_2170839.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcc/jim-gaffigan-580_terrible-twos_whoever-came-up-with-the-term-terrible-t_2170839.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcc/jim-gaffigan-580_terrible-twos_whoever-came-up-with-the-term-terrible-t_2170839.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whoever came up with the term “terrible twos” must have felt very foolish after their kid turned three.” — Jim Gaffigan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Families survive the Terrible Twos because toddlers aren't strong enough to kill with their hands and aren't capable of using lethal weapons. A 2-year-old with the physical capacities of an adult would be terrifying.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Bloom" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/families-survive-the-terrible-twos-because-toddlers-aren-t-strong-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/paul-bloom-3720_adult_families-survive-the-terrible-twos-becau_2730578.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/paul-bloom-3720_adult_families-survive-the-terrible-twos-becau_2730578.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d4/paul-bloom-3720_adult_families-survive-the-terrible-twos-becau_2730578.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Families survive the Terrible Twos because toddlers aren't strong enough to kill with their hands and aren't…” — Paul Bloom", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The cliches are all true! My son Max has just turned two, and he's literally turned into this driven young man overnight! The terrible twos are not a myth, but he's such a laugh to be around.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Burn Gorman" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burn-gorman/the-cliches-are-all-true-my-son-max-has-just-turned-two-and-he-s/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/burn-gorman-38871_around_the-cliches-are-all-true-my-son-max-has_1086983.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/burn-gorman-38871_around_the-cliches-are-all-true-my-son-max-has_1086983.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/burn-gorman-38871_around_the-cliches-are-all-true-my-son-max-has_1086983.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The cliches are all true! My son Max has just turned two, and he's literally turned into this driven young…” — Burn Gorman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Families survive the terrible twos because toddlers aren't strong enough to kill with their hands and aren't capable of using lethal weapons.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Bloom" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/families-survive-the-terrible-twos-because-toddlers-aren-t-strong/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/paul-bloom-3720_capable_families-survive-the-terrible-twos-becau_41025.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/paul-bloom-3720_capable_families-survive-the-terrible-twos-becau_41025.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77f/paul-bloom-3720_capable_families-survive-the-terrible-twos-becau_41025.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Families survive the terrible twos because toddlers aren't strong enough to kill with their hands and aren't…” — Paul Bloom", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Toddlers are adorable, but taking care of them doesn’t really get easier. Whoever came up with the term “terrible twos” must have felt very foolish after their kid turned three. Three-year-olds are just rude. They are still supercute, but now they are supercute and they know it. They have gotten supersmart, and they are not afraid to show it. It’s like living with a child emperor. They act really entitled, bossy, and outspoken. They think the world revolves around them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jim Gaffigan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/toddlers-are-adorable-but-taking-care-of-them-doesn-t-really-get/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/jim-gaffigan-580_terrible-twos_toddlers-are-adorable-but-taking-care-of_1106415.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/jim-gaffigan-580_terrible-twos_toddlers-are-adorable-but-taking-care-of_1106415.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/151/jim-gaffigan-580_terrible-twos_toddlers-are-adorable-but-taking-care-of_1106415.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Toddlers are adorable, but taking care of them doesn’t really get easier. Whoever came up with the term…” — Jim Gaffigan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sounds like someone's hit the terrible twos.\" \"Threes actually,\" Quil corrected. \"You missed the party. Princess theme. She made me wear a crown, and then Emily suggested they all try out her new play makeup on me.\" \"Wow, I'm REALLY sorry I wasn't around to see that.\" Don't worry, Emily has pictures. Actually, I look pretty hot.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephenie Meyer" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/sounds-like-someone-s-hit-the-terrible-twos-threes-actually-quil/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03b/stephenie-meyer-91_humiliation_sounds-like-someone-s-hit-the-terrible-t_2973633.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03b/stephenie-meyer-91_humiliation_sounds-like-someone-s-hit-the-terrible-t_2973633.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03b/stephenie-meyer-91_humiliation_sounds-like-someone-s-hit-the-terrible-t_2973633.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sounds like someone's hit the terrible twos.\" \"Threes actually,\" Quil corrected. \"You missed the party…” — Stephenie Meyer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The best parenting advice I ever got was from a labor nurse who told me the following: 1. After your baby gets here, the dog will just be a dog. 2. The terrible twos last through age three. 3. Never ask your child an open-ended question, such as \"Do you want to go to bed now?\" You won't want to hear the answer, believe me. \"Do you want me to carry you upstairs, or do you want to walk upstairs to go to bed?\" That way, you get the outcome you want and they feel empowered.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jodi Picoult" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-best-parenting-advice-i-ever-got-was-from-a-labor-nurse-who-told/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/jodi-picoult-45_advice_the-best-parenting-advice-i-ever-got-was_2196091.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/jodi-picoult-45_advice_the-best-parenting-advice-i-ever-got-was_2196091.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d09/jodi-picoult-45_advice_the-best-parenting-advice-i-ever-got-was_2196091.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The best parenting advice I ever got was from a labor nurse who told me the following: 1. After your baby…” — Jodi Picoult", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...Emily hit the Terrible Twos and I bought a book called Toddler Taming. It was a revelation. The advice on how to deal with small angry immature people who have no idea of limits and were constantly testing their mother applied perfectly to my boss. Instead of treating him as a superior, I began handling him as though he were a tricky small boy. Whenever he was about to do something naughty, I would do my best to distract him; if I wanted him to do something, I always made it look like it was his idea.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Allison Pearson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-pearson/emily-hit-the-terrible-twos-and-i-bought-a-book-called-toddler-taming/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cd/allison-pearson-10663_books_emily-hit-the-terrible-twos-and-i-bought_2027506.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cd/allison-pearson-10663_books_emily-hit-the-terrible-twos-and-i-bought_2027506.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cd/allison-pearson-10663_books_emily-hit-the-terrible-twos-and-i-bought_2027506.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...Emily hit the Terrible Twos and I bought a book called Toddler Taming. It was a revelation. The advice on…” — Allison Pearson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But it is the nature of narcissistic entitlement to see the situation from only one very subjective point of view that says “My feelings and needs are all that matter, and whatever I want, I should get.” Mutuality and reciprocity are entirely alien concepts, because others exist only to agree, obey, flatter, and comfort – in short, to anticipate and meet my every need. If you cannot make yourself useful in meeting my need, you are of no value and will most likely be treated accordingly, and if you defy my will, prepare to feel my wrath. Hell hath no fury like the Narcissist denied. Narcissists hold these unreasonable expectations of particularly favorable treatment and automatic compliance because they consider themselves uniquely special. In social situations, you will talk about them or what they are interested in because they are more important, more knowledgeable, or more captivating than anyone else. Any other subject is boring and won’t hold interest, and, in their eyes, they most certainly have a right to be entertained. In personal relationships, their sense of entitlement means that you must attend to their needs but they are under no obligation to listen to or understand you. If you insist that they do, you are “being difficult” or challenging their rights. How dare you put yourself before me? they seem to (or may actually) ask. And if they have real power over you, they feel entitled to use you as they see fit and you must not question their authority. Any failure to comply will be considered an attack on their superiority. Defiance of their will is a narcissistic injury that can trigger rage and self-righteous aggression. The conviction of entitlement is a holdover from the egocentric stage of early childhood, around the age of one to two, when children experience a natural sense of grandiosity that is an essential part of their development. This is a transitional phase, and soon it becomes necessary for them to integrate their feelings of self-importance and invincibility with an awareness of their real place in the overall scheme of things that includes a respect for others. In some cases, however, the bubble of specialness is never popped, and in others the rupture is too harsh or sudden, as when a parent or caretaker shames excessively or fails to offer soothing in the wake of a shaming experience. Whether overwhelmed with shame or artificially protected from it, children whose infantile fantasies are not gradually transformed into a more balanced view of themselves in relation to others never get over the belief that they are the center of the universe. Such children may become self-absorbed “Entitlement monsters,” socially inept and incapable of the small sacrifices of Self that allow for reciprocity in personal relationships. The undeflated child turns into an arrogant adult who expects others to serve as constant mirrors of his or her wonderfulness. In positions of power, they can be egotistical tyrants who will have their way without regard for anyone else. Like shame, the rage that follows frustrated entitlement is a primitive emotion that we first learn to manage with the help of attuned parents. The child’s normal narcissistic rages, which intensify during the power struggles of age eighteen to thirty months – those “terrible twos” – require “optimal frustration” that is neither overly humiliating nor threatening to the child’s emerging sense of Self. When children encounter instead a rageful, contemptuous or teasing parent during these moments of intense arousal, the image of the parent’s face is stored in the developing brain and called up at times of future stress to whip them into an aggressive frenzy. Furthermore, the failure of parental attunement during this crucial phase can interfere with the development of brain functions that inhibit aggressive behavior, leaving children with lifelong difficulties controlling aggressive impulses.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sandy Hotchkiss" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-hotchkiss/but-it-is-the-nature-of-narcissistic-entitlement-to-see-the-situation/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/sandy-hotchkiss-51597_center-of-the-univer_but-it-is-the-nature-of-narcissistic-ent_2138992.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/sandy-hotchkiss-51597_center-of-the-univer_but-it-is-the-nature-of-narcissistic-ent_2138992.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/sandy-hotchkiss-51597_center-of-the-univer_but-it-is-the-nature-of-narcissistic-ent_2138992.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But it is the nature of narcissistic entitlement to see the situation from only one very subjective point of…” — Sandy Hotchkiss", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-twos/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-twos/", "name": "Terrible Twos Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-twos/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/judith-clabes-250883_women_a-women-who-can-cope-with-the-terrible-t_3085422.jpg" }, "description": "Browse 10 Terrible Twos quotes by 8 authors. 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