Terrible Two's- sorry long

Please tell me that it is completely normal for my son at 2 1/2 to be throwing temper tantrums, taking forever to eat, not understanding the word no... and the list goes on. My bil acts like he has the perfect child who is 6 months older than my son. It just annoys me because he has partial custody of his son and sees him every other weekend. I have my son every day and yes somedays he is an angel, but other days he can be a handful. Today we went to Walgreens and he wanted a toy. I said no and he literally ran from me and started screaming he wants a toy. Way to make a scene Davey The minute we got home he started screaming more and fell asleep. He never takes naps, so he is definitely having an off day. Plus he got the flu shot yesterday. This morning I was talking to my bil on the phone about how it takes my son so long to eat because he is too easily distracted and he told me I need to curb his behavior. WTH? He is 2!!!!! Am I wrong? Can I really curb the behavior of a 2 year old? My son already knows that he is not going to his little gym class tonight because of his temper tantrum at the store, but I am not sure if he will even remember when he wakes up. Please tell me this behavior is all normal and thanks for letting me vent.

Re: Terrible Two's- sorry long

It is perfectly normal I vented about this not too long ago myself my son is 2yrs 9 months and going through the same things but I am very strict with him I dont let him get away with anything and if he takes forever to eat his dinner or doesnt wanna eat it anymore I make him sit there till hes done. I think as long as you stay on top of him then it wont get any worse but it is perfectly normal it just depends on how you handle it.

Re: Terrible Two's- sorry long

I dont have a 2 yr old but from what I have seen w/ my friend's 2 yr olds and just from knowing - your son's behavior is normal!! Most if not all, two year olds go through that stage. Hence the term "terrible two's!"
As for your BIL, maybe you should not compare notes or discuss your son's meltdowns with him, seems that he thinks his DC is fine because he only sees his DC every other week. If he saw DC daily he may have a different view!