Loopy McLooperson or Mr. Crankers

My oldest son gets like me when he is tired.  He goes one of two ways. 

One way is to become super duper uper schmooper cranky. (Yikes, I have watched way too much Sid the Science Kid. Oh, the life of being a mom.)  When my oldest is tired, watch out.  Now, he is nothing compared to some kids who kick and bite and scream so loud that it seems as if they are trying to peel the paint off the walls.  But it is plenty cranky to me.  He will talk back saying, "No!" or "Bad!"  He screams and cries and if I am here and my husband is not, it is, "I want my daddy."  His most recent addition to this litany of comments is, "I quit" and "Never, never, never."  These are normally all followed by crying or pouting and unfortunately for him usually in conjunction with a timeout.  Fun times-not!  When he is in this lovely state, I call him Mr. Crankers. 

The other path of tiredness is one of being loopy.  He just starts giggling and saying random things.  He wants to sit on our laps and wiggle and tickle us but does not want us to do it back to him.   I call him Loopy McLooperson when he is like this, which he doesn't really enjoy.

Although I call him these playful pet names to be endearing, if it bugs him I stop, but I do call him on his behavior.  I say things like, "You are tired and being cranky.  If you had napped, you wouldn't be behaving this way.  Do you like how you are behaving?"
"No." 
"Then tomorrow, you need to take a nap so you won't be like this again because I don't like it either, okay?"
"Okay."
Short but simple explanation that this could have been avoided.  Today my son is napping.  In fact, both of them are, right now. (Yay, me.) So, no Mr. Crankers tonight, I hope.  Sometimes they both wake up cranky, but that is a topic for another blog. 

These names help me remember that this is not who my son is when he is rested and fed.  It also reminds me that I do not have to take this behavior too seriously and this too shall pass.  In fact, sometimes I laugh out loud and that make Mr. Crankers very upset.  But come on a 3 year old tantrum is kind of funny.  Last, his behavior is age appropriate and I know he will learn to cue into his bodies natural rhythm and take the necessary steps to get out of those "states." 

Or is this just wishful thinking from a mom, that doesn't now better yet? Hmm...