How to Handle Your Practical Jokester Toddler

It’s interesting to see how a child’s personality develops. I new early on that our now 3-year-old son was a practical jokester the moment we took him home from the hospital. Let’s just say he had a habit of dropping bombs every where. Some would think he had no idea what he was doing. But, I beg to differ.

He’s come a long way since then, and he’s taken his act to the next level. He started with the “Mommy my belly hurts” excuse.

“Where does it hurt?” I asked.

“On my back,” he responded.

It was just his way of trying to get out of any situation. I was smart enough to know better. But he got me good when he blurted out, “I have to go to the potty mommy. I don’t want to pee myself,” he whined.

We were on our way to school, so there was no access to a potty. I made a pitstop at our house so he could pee. But when he got on the toilet, nothing came out. It turned out he didn’t have to pee at all, he just didn’t want to go to school that day.

But we’re just scratching the surface with his antics. This little guy is notorious for messing up the house as I’m cleaning up. There’s nothing like packing away his toys only to turn around and see them back where they were.

He’s become a pint size master of practical jokes. His biggest practical joke of all – the time he set off the house alarm. We caught him reaching for the button, and warned him not to set off the alarm.

Then out of nowhere he stood up on the kitchen table and pressed the button. It only took a few minutes for the Police to arrive. My husband and I answered the door thinking of a way to explain that our son was culprit who accidentally called them. There were two cop cars positioned in front of our house and I prayed that they wouldn’t accuse us of child abuse or something sinister.

Thank goodness they understood. Apparently, this kind of things happen more often than you think. Even though his tricks get a little frustrating, we can look back and laugh at these moments.

It’s also amazing to see how his personality is developing. Something tells me he has a bright future in comedy because this little guy keeps us laughing at some of his pranks. I just hope his tricks never get out of control.

In the meantime, we’re tightening the strings on our practical jokester to keep him in check. We’ve also put him on punishment for some of his pranks. We’ve got to do something, otherwise the joke’s on us.

Do you have practical jokester kids? Please share your story!