Does the Terrible Two Stage Exist?

I am one lucky mama to be temporarily oblivious to the terrible two stage! It is my understanding that the terrible two stage consists of intense kicking and screaming temper tantrums, wild-running-away displays of psychosis in public settings, refusing to do anything that is told of them, pushing and shoving, and screaming the word "NO" often. It is a frightening image.

My daughter, Miss A, is currently two years and two months old. Not yet has she exhibited any of the typical signs of this dreaded toddler stage. Other mothers have warned me about this stage setting in earlier, at age one, but I have never heard of it coming later. I am certain that every child is different and it is possible to come later. However, I am hoping that this is simply a horrible myth in the parenting community.

Now, despite wanting to show off and portray my daughter as a perfect angel, she does display the typical behaviors of a toddler. It is quite normal for Miss A to have small fits and throw herself on the floor when she is tired or having trouble completing a task. (She inherited my lack of patience). It is quite normal for her to occasionally whine and cry from inside the shopping cart as we are getting groceries. It is true that she does not always do exactly what I ask of her. Often times, she ignores my demands and continues on to whatever she was previously doing.

However, it is not the case that she has transformed into a terrible psycho-child that I have been, sooo many times, warned about. "Just you wait until she hits her terrible twos!" I find that she is actually quite well behaved. For instance, today at the library she started running down the book aisles. I firmly explained to her that we need to walk and that we are not allowed to run in the library. She actually listened to me and repeated what I said several times. She kept walking back and forth from the toy section to where I was looking for books. I only had to tell her once. (I honestly can't believe it.) Overall, she is very pleasant to be around. She understands that it is not nice to say naughty words like "no". Instead, she has to say "no thank you." She genuinely likes to help do chores, play quietly with blocks, dance and sing loudly, color with her crayons, and ride her bike around our kitchen island. When she starts getting irritable, it is because we have been shopping for two hours and her nap time is nearing. Or it is because she is hungry, but she generally asks for a snack if her "belly is empty".

I am very content with my child's two year old behavior thus far. It is true that she has only been two years old for two months... so she has plenty of time to fall into the terrible two category. Only time will tell. For now, I will just bank on her never entering this, apparently, doomed stage of life!