S.O.S.

Seriously, if any of you parents out there know how to handle a 13 month old with a very bad attitude, I'd like to sell you my daughter. However, since I'm pretty sure that is illegal, I'll gladly accept your advice. Please note that I asked for advice from actual parents. If you don't have kids, you cannot understand this predicament. You have never loved someone SO MUCH and still sort of wanted to put them in a headlock. I know I used to think "when I have kids and they act up, I'll do this and this and....". Guess what? That was before I saw a child laugh out loud at threats of time out, physical violence, and being put up as "Free to a reasonably good home" on Craigslist. This same child who looks her mother in the eye and THEN ragefully flings her plate off her high chair and onto the floor. Additionally, the same child who gets so ill during her tantrums (which explode from nowhere) that she begins to repeatedly bang her own head against floors, walls, even the refrigerator. Now, keep in mind, this is very new behavior. As has been fairly chronicled on here, Mia has always been a sweet, loving baby. However, the last week or so, she has just about lost her damn mind. Is she just sick and tired of being sick and tired? Is this just a phase of developmental progress? Were those teeth that grew in...or tiny devil horns? I'm sure my cuddly bear of a daughter will be back soon. Until then, I'll just hide the knives and pad the floors.