how old should my kid be to just chill for a couple hours?

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You probably have to vote on your own poll. Stupid engineering if you ask me. But also it looks like there aren't any comments.

I do think he is a little young to expect that much independence. As for the ice cream. Maybe find a way to let him know that he's not in trouble for eating. But for not listening to mommy say to wait for help. Also everything else seems pretty expected of a kid that age. It's tough to remember even when they seem like they should be past certain behaviors their brains are still sorting things out. Very well possibly just pushing boundaries. Hang in there mama.

I personally don't think punishing is an effective way of parenting. Maybe you get exhausted because he continuously makes "mistakes" that are not understand. I explain myself. Throwing dirt to you is a mistake. To him is an experiment... Explain what he can do instead of what he can't do might help improve his understanding. Also select your "NOs" for important things. If he is said continuously he can't do stuff he won't ever take it seriously. I don't really answer your question but I hope it helps for you to be less exhausted and make your relationship better and less stressful with your kid ☺️

@Brianne ohh ok thanks that worked

I dont know my son will be 4 in may and is on the assesment pathway for autism and adhd but i legit cant leave him alone in another room for 5 mins as hell be doing something he isnt meant to

@Aurélie at some point he stopped responding to the explanations as well. And started throwing fits when i do that. But I need to keep this in mind and maybe go back to just calmly explaining or distracting him even when it seems like he's not understanding he always eventually gets it even if it takes months.

Our son started waking up and getting into things at 2. We HAD to be up with him until more recently (he is 4, but quite mature for his age in a lot of ways). At 3 he was too young to expect much, even 4 I don’t expect him to be perfect, he’s still learning! Children’s brains are technically considered infantile up to 3 years of age, after that they BEGIN developing the reasoning abilities we continue to developed well into adulthood. You should definitely toddler proof the home so he can’t get outside alone, that’s extremely dangerous for him! Even in a backyard. There are tools on Amazon and such that you can install to keep them from unlocking and opening exterior doors. Your child wakes up early because he’s 3, little kids do that and it’s our job as parents to wake up and trudge through the morning with them.

@Anna when he was outside I was right next to him watching him. I saw him pick up dirt just didn't expect it to get thrown through the open door lol. We have child locks and alarms on the doors.

Ohhhh gotcha I must’ve misunderstood!

I have a 2 and 4 year old and I wouldn’t trust either of them to be doing anything without me 😅 maybeee but 5 or 6

If I was there and I saw him deliberately do something he’d be punished. If I didn’t see it I’d ask him what happened and let him explain, and then calmly say it’s not right or to ask me for help or whatever. My boy has just turned 4 and I regularly leave him in the next room or upstairs in his room playing with his toys while I’m doing housework.

Far too young to expect any more of him if you are not watching him but I’d never let a child that young get up and get food alone

My daughter had been waking up at 7 since she was 3. Now that my husband works weekends I don't get any time to sleep in. In the beginning she knew her rules were she could get out of bed at 7, put underwear on and play in her room. She corny leave her room. Now when she wakes up she comes to my room for undies and asks for her tablet. I let her have her tablet in her room and sleep for an extra hour.

On the food part, I suggest having certain foods in a certain place that he can access any time without permission (fruit, veggies, maybe some granola bars or other snacks like that). I wish my mom did that growing up, I had to ask permission for any food at most ages and often got "it's almost dinner time, just wait" and it's like well I'm hungry now 🤣🤣🤣

@Rachel I love this suggestion. One of my favorite things about being a parent is letting him get his own food if he wants snacks or just wants to do it himself. He has a lower section of the pantry with his snacks and he gets food and drinks from the fridge he just hasn't been able to reach the freezer until now 😆

My son from 3 runs into his room and plays without supervision I can hear his marble run or whatever he’s playing, he didn’t need constant supervision at 3. But that’s him. He doesn’t really do anything naughty he just goes and plays with his Lego or bag or playdoh or marble run, for hrs then he’ll come back out. He helps himself to the pantry or fridge he just needs me to cut/open whatever it is he grabbed and asked beforehand

My son is 3. Some things he knows better (like when he yells hiccup and throws something) but he wouldn't ever get punished for a true mistake regardless of age. We are currently working on letting mommy sleep when he wakes up, and short periods of time in the bedroom alone (large room we share) but he does not have free access to the house. He can't be trusted not to go eat ice cream or every single tomato he can find for fun. But also he is fully capable of entertaining himself without getting into trouble in a room that is fully toddler safe.

Depends....... I get frightened by the silence

I also have a 4yr. For the food part, I set out snacks each night on her little table or put a picture of the fridge on her table, which she knew she snacks were in there. She had a specific section in the fridge for all of her snacks. We used a box and made it 'Pretty'. We tried to limit the snacks amount because if we didn't, then that's all she'd eat and wouldnt have breakfast or other meals.

@Anita i know what you mean but I mean also if I'm working or like making grocery list kind of thing even if hes right next to me alot of times I literally can't do it because he needs attention. Like right now he's putting a toy in my face over and over even though iv been paying attention to him all day before this.

@ᏗᏒᎥᏋᏝ🧜‍♀️ that's a good idea. I can put stuff in his lunch box

The part of the brain responsible for impulse control doesn't even begin to develop until 3.5-4 years old (& that's based on neurotypical brains) and that part of the brain continues to develop until the mid-20s.