Difficulty adjusting to change, advise please

[Momof4]

I have one who just went through this. EVERYTHING was a power struggle. He had tantrums all day long. I discussed it with his parents, who are wonderful, and they were on board with everything. He went in the playpen for his time outs because he would bang his head against the wall. After a couple of days of being on constant time out, his behaviour has improved significantly.

You hit the nail on the head. Toddlers and parents have struggles over power and control. I don't know how many times I've gently told parents to BE parents, take back their lives, their homes and PARENT!!! Yes, it's good to give children control and proper choices sometimes, like which toy to play with, whether they want apples or bananas for their fruit choice, if they want to sing a song or make a puzzle. However, they should not be given a choice about whether or not to wear their coat, have chocolate for breakfast, if it is bedtime or not and important issues where they are RULES. Anyway, these are things I try to teach new parents in an effort to help them get their child on the right track in life. So far, most of the parents who have gone through my daycare have been wonderful and appreciative of my help.