Coping with the terrible twos can be hard. Tantrums, potty training, saying no, hitting, and not doing as they are told are all common problems at this age. However, the terrible twos can also be terrific. Two year olds are also very affectionate, full of energy and enthusiasm, love playing and having fun.

So I can you turn the terrible twos into the terriffic twos?

I have a boy who is now 2 and 8 months. We have been through a lot of the terrible two problems. There have been many times when coping with the terrible twos has seemed impossible. So, I've done a lot of reading and researching and put a lot of what I've learned into practice. Read on to discover my top tips for coping with the terrible twos.

Toddlers think they can have what they want and when they can't quite often all hell breaks loose. They want some more sweets or to watch television and you say no. Sometimes they're requests are quite bizzare, for example they decide they want to go outside with no clothes on. But you say no and what happens is they start protesting and quite often a tantrum occurs.

The way I've had of coping with these kind of situations is by offering another choice that is just as appealing as what they've asked for but is better for them. Here are some solutions.

• You can't go outside with no clothes on but if you get dressed I'll come and play ball in the garden.
• No more sweets but would you like an apple (my son loves apples but you could replace this with another nutricious snack they love - raisins, dried fruit etc).
• No more TV but we can read your book with your favorite TV character.

Another great technique of coping with the terrible twos is distraction or diverting their attention to something else attractive to them. So for example, if they snatch a toy of another child, take the toy away from them but give them another one that is partcularly eye catching to play with. Tell them, you can't have that car because another little boy is playing with it but Wow, look at this red car. Isn't it shiny? Let's play with this instead.

Here are some distraction tips:

• Distraction works best before they actually get into a full blown temper tantrum. If they're too upset it's difficult to divert their attention away from what is upsetting them.
• If you're outside with your toddler look for things that may interest them in the world around them. Insects, cars, buses, and flowers are all things you can point to, talk about and make sound exciting.
• If you're inside, toys are good to distract them. Show them how to use them and play with them to get them excited.
• Singing songs, being silly, spinning them around, chasing them, dancing to music and playing with them are all good methods of distraction. They can change the mood of both you and your toddler to one of fun rather than confrontation.

Quite often toddlers don't do what they want you to do because it isn't fun. Make the activity you wish them to participate fun and they won't be able to resist the new activity.

For example, when potty training my son, it was hard to get him to come and use the potty when he was playing with his toys. I quite often took another favorite toy for him to play with while sitting on the potty or read him a favorite book.

If you want your little one to get dressed and they don't want to co-operate make the whole process fun and get them involved. Sing songs, be silly, make them laugh, let them dress teddy. Whatever they find fun will encourage them to do what you want and is a great technique for coping with the terrible twos.

If you want more information on coping with the terrible twos through to preschoolers I highly recommend the link below. It's a program about talking to toddlers which offers the following benefits:

• Learn simple language to avoid saying no and therefore tantrums
• Get them to say yes easily
• Change their emotional state so they actually do what you want them to
• Get your kids to agree to things they normally wouldn't agree to
• Never have to yell at your kids when changing their behaviour
• And much more