I like to think that I'm prepared for just about anything when it comes to parenting. My wife and I have already been through this legendary age with one girl and one boy, so we should know what we're up against. Right?

HA! As any child psychology expert will tell you, every child is unique, and our youngest is currently giving us a run for our money. He has even decided to get a head start and hit the famed "terrible twos" three months early. Just our luck.

Last weekend I took him to Costco with his big sister to do some shopping. He fell asleep in the car on the way to the store, so he was a bit groggy. When we got inside, he insisted on being held the entire time. If you've ever been to Costco on a weekend, then you know how hard it is to navigate the mayhem even with two hands on a cart—let alone when you're carrying a 25 pound kid. At one point I had to put him down in the cart, and that did it...complete public meltdown. Screaming, crying, kicking, the works. I never experienced this with my other two kids, and I must admit I was at a loss. I chose to ignore him and the disgusted looks from the other shoppers and finish our errand. After he calmed down a bit, I managed to bring him back to reality with the promise of pizza when we were done checking out. By the way he ate that slice I'm guessing hunger was the issue, but WOW was that ugly.

In an effort to bring back a bit of peace and quiet to our home (or at least less screaming), I did some poking around on other parenting blogs. Usually I don't find much of value on the big corporate sites, but I must admit I was pleasantly surprised on this post I found on Parents.com about discipline.

I will be trying some of these methods on our little hellion, and will report back in the comments if we have any luck. My poor wife is the one who has to deal with this all day while I'm at work, so I really hope this works for her sake.

What worked for you when your little one hit this stage? Share your stories with us.