There is a lot of wisdom here in some of these responses - especially the suggestion that what we think we see in our children is really in us - including boredom. Along those lines I think I heard in your post that you have some expectations that you may not have examined: 1 - that crying and boredom and other apparently unfavorable conditions are things to be changed and avoided and 2 - that you are the one who can and should alleviate those things in your child.

It sounds absolutely exhausting to be in the position of trying to find a toy or an amusement for a cranky child moment after moment - and to be constantly trying to avoid or cope with outbursts and temper. It seems as if it is your belief that you must do this is what is shaking your alignment.

In my experience (and I have 4 children and 3 grandchildren and have decades of experience as a parent coach) busy parents who strive to do a great job of providing a loving and nurturing environment for their children, all too often write themselves out of the equation. In other words, they put the needs they imagine their child has (which are probably projections anyway) above their own needs, including the very legitimate need to not be "on call" 24/7. This sets up a dynamic where the child is calling the shots, manipulating with temper or whining. Children DO NOT want this. They are very uncomfortable in this position, though once it is established, they may resist any changes. AND, parents who create this dynamic are not modeling self-love or self-care.

You are part of this family, and it has to work for you too. Your inner alignment, your emotional state is the barometer. When you feel off, the whole family is off and your child will benefit by observing you re-align over and over again and by observing you asking for what you need and asking for cooperation and teamwork in the family.

Hope this helps.

He was quiet immediately when he was "satisfied"... He got older but the "complaining" didn't stop. He always needed and still needs something exciting to watch or play with, otherwise he will cry and grouch for hours.

This is not teaching him to be in control of his own vibration. It is not your job to make sure he is never bored, it is his job to keep himself entertained. Trying to keep him entertained all the time is ruining his ability to do that for himself.

You say that he's very smart, so he knows there are toys there, tv there, etc. He can use his creativity to stay entertained. You already provide for him as a parent, now it's his job to keep his energy/vibration happy.

I feel much the same as @corduroypower. I can offer a little perspective, because my own brilliant son is all grown up now. I just wanted to pop by and encourage you a little as a mom, and I think this works with the principles of The Law of Attraction as well:

Teaching my boy to read, and to love to read (by letting him see me love and indulge in reading) was the best thing I ever did for him.

When he was little, I read him good, interesting stories every night before bed.

I insisted on my own quiet time to read, allowed him time to read as a reward, so he'd learn to treasure it, and treated his books as precious gifts. In your time spent reading, your son (and the Universe) will pick up on your peaceful, satisfied, self-respecting vibe, and mirror it back to you. He will never be able to exhaust the possibilities of reading.

It is also a blessedly quiet pursuit! :D

My grown son now works exclusively at doing what he loves, and is very happy.

Good luck! It's all worth it, I promise you!

Love, Grace :)

"Is it really possible that he is just a mirror of ME?", the answer is in the question my friend @spacemetalfantasy.

Children naturally mirror our own problems, and toddlers mirror back our own emotions.

It's like looking in the mirror, what can I see? If I see a smile then I'm showing happiness, if I perceive boredom then I'm showing boredom. If I'm not conscious of being bored my boredom will be transfered into thinking that my toddler is bored. If boredom goes unrecognized then boredom will deepen and become frustration, frustration will change into anger, crazy, etc.

Emotions influence thoughts and thoughts influence emotions, they are interactive and form a dynamic couple. What are thoughts, what are emotions? They're both different ways of expressing the same characteristic inner movement of energy, whether that movement of energy be labeled "happy", "bored", "frustrated" "angry", "challenging"(defiant, resistant).

So the question can now be twofold;

"Are toddlers naturally challenging?", I think the answer has to be yes.

"Is it possible to remain in perfect alignment whatever is going on around me?" again I think that the answer is yes.

The mental state of children is a direct reflection of the mental state of their parents. Always, without exception.

All tantrums, lack of sleep and childhood illnesses are caused by stresses in parents, not the other way around.

Children simply soak up the stress and react.

the mind of a child is not
yet the mind of an adult,
then with our imperfect
memory of that age

I agree with @Stingray.. and disagree :)

I agree about doing the processes that align you, and I myself have the whole book about that "Unhurtable" ..even process, rather than notion.

I disagree about "giving buttons" and "becoming unhurtable forever". Same as I disagree about looking for reasons of your situation. Because all that moves your focus away from just aligning and finding Your answers using Your inner GPS, Your inner guidance.

How about - this is just a stream, one of those you consist of (as each your desire forms one), and you're just in the stage of it being expanded (by itself, for life's and your sake) and not yet harmonized (by you).

(In projection to what AH teach, similar to step one and step three.)

So all you need to (want to) do is just seeking relief in every moment you feel not in harmony. Seeking relief by looking for a thought that lets you feel better in the situation you're in.

As AH say, "Don't seek improvement, don't seek solution, just seek relief."

What will happen, it will change your state in the stream, you might be even able to enjoy that same situation! And then the whole situation will change, as the every-moment-updated expression of your energy, of the ratio of harmonization in this your stream of this specific desire.

And you will be able to live in the current moment, not trying to solve the situation forever, just harmonizing in your every moment in the stream you find the most touching you then, or at all.

Why I disagree with looking for reasons - as AH say, "it's a bottomless pit". In every situation you will look for the "reasons" in that situation, when actually the "reason" is one: the pre-harmony (I prefer this title) in a great, exciting, satisfying stream of one of your deliciousest desires, found this way to express itself. That's it. When you harmonize, it will find the way to express the harmony.

Why I disagree with "giving buttons" - because it looks blaming you and, more important, making you try to solve this "weakness". Instead of harmonizing and praising your sensitivity in Feedback about your Emotional stance and your beliefs. When you align, it will become observable and rather simple.

And why I disagree with "seeking becoming unhurtable forever" - because you have a life to live, many lives to live, and your streams will expand, yielding for you new heights of happiness, - but in the beginning, when they expand, the pre-harmony will be finding its way to express itself, and you may spend a life in trying to "wrestle it to the ground and kill it, forever", or you may just seek relief - the simplest, surest way to harmonize, and live currently, presently, enjoyingly, in every newly coming moment.

Be happy. :) You have all the reasons to.

By the way, you could take "Where am I going wrong?" as the first thought you will find a thought that feel better, from. I would probably recommend you not to go for big processes, at least at first, as they may too resemble "wrestling it to the ground and killing it forever", trying to fix the situation in order to feel better, I would recommend simple small steps, like here. Good feeling to you. :)