My oldest is 3. She's just a bundle of energy and is getting into things constantly. Her new thing is telling me "no" or if I ask her to do something I get the "I don't feel like it." Any ideas on how to get through that stage? Any advice? It's worse than the terrible two's!

Well I can relate.  My youngest turns three next month and I wonder what happened to my sweet little boy that used to be so helpful.  He is trowing tantrums, won't take no for an answer and has taken to screaming.  We have really had to buckle down on his consequences for these actions.  usually a time out - this gives him time to cool down, and then we chat about the tantrum.  But yes I can relate.  I agree worse than the terrible two's but on the plus side his communication is better - so I least know what's on his mind when he is throwing a fit because he makes it very clear

Hi girl...Jason will be 3 in May and he's a monster sometimes!  They're kids and they have a lot to teach us!!!  Sometimes I think about our crazy lives and how much we are constantly telling our toddlers what to do. I keep a routine, I feel they thrive on it! But I listen. To myself as well as others.  Try doing the oppisite and giving some freedom to make decisions on her own! Jason loves it. And If your child is getting into everything it's bc she's very smart, so be proud, that's just how my son is. They're exploring, it's totally annoying sometimes and I get tired of it, but then I think, how would I feel if I didn't know how something worked and I was curious? We're they're number one teachers!  Give her time b4 you tell her, get her ready for the next thing....ie: in five minutes we'll get out of the bath, and tell her everything you will do that day. It gets rid of any suprises, and they feel involved instead of bossed around. Hope this helps!

Thanks for the advice! I'll try anything to make days go smoother around here! I'll keep you gals updated after a few days!

My son will be 3 in August. He can be a handful.  I agree with everything that the other moms have said. I try to keep Jon busy.  He spends part of the day at his school ( they have program where they work with the kids, kind of like a preschool ) he takes a nap there and then i pick him up. We do supper, play outside for awhile, we come in and take our bath, read a couple of books and then wind down for bed.  It seems that if i stick to this schedule we don't have as many tantrums.  Now on the days that we don't stick to it there are a few tantrums and we do timeout.  But the rebelion in his words are there. I hear " Your not my best friend"

Oh yes... 3 is definetly worse than 2.  Paige turned 3 in April and she is so headstrong. I found giving her a time limit or boundaries before we moved on to the next thing really helped.  Like Angela posted above tell her that in "5 minutes we are going to get ready for bed, etc"  It really worked with Paige and then I would say..okay..in 10 minutes we are leaving and she would say.."no...in 5 minutes"  I couldn't help but laugh because she was trained!  ;)

time outs work really well too. . when she throws something or screams or does something out of frusteration I send her to her room and she sits in the middle of her room and cries.  I tell her when she is done crying she can get up.  She is really good about calming herself down and getting up when she is done.  We talk about it and then move on.  It defintely took some consistency though. I would have to drag her back to the middle of her room if she tried to get up before she was done throwing a fit. 

The temper is the worst part.  My daughter can flip a switch.  She has two extreme personalities... i have learned that consistency, deep breaths and patience is what has gotten us through these past 6 months.. she is a LOT better than she was when she first turned 3!!