Most parents have heard a variation on the phrase “Oooh, terrible twos!” uttered with eyebrows raised and a knowing look at their toddler.

In fact, such is the bad rap two-year-olds have that before my eldest had even reached her toddler years, I was extremely nervous about what the age would hold for us. I genuinely thought she was going to morph into some nightmarish, uber-emotional hellbat on her second birthday.

But, two kids later (and having met my fair share of two-year-olds in the process), I have to say: two is perhaps my favourite age.

So, I’m here to bang the drum for a rebrand of ‘terrible twos’ to ‘terrific twos’.

The ‘terrible twos’ descriptor largely stems from the fact previously-compliant babies grow up and become louder, more mobile and in need of independence – but they’re obviously still very little, so can’t have full autonomy over every little thing.

“Around this age, children are beginning to realise they are their own person with their own thoughts, preferences and opinions,” Dr Sasha Hall, a senior educational and child psychologist, told me. “It becomes the ‘me do it’ stage. They want to put on their own shoes, choose their own clothes and do things for themselves.

“That growing autonomy is exactly what we want to see, but it often arrives before they have the emotional regulation skills to cope when things do not go to plan.”

Yes, two is when the pushback begins. You might hear more of the word ‘no’. You might also be on the receiving end of some pretty irrational requests. And Dr Hall noted these moments often happen at moments of high stress, like when you’re trying to get out of the door in the morning – “they’re insisting their sandals are on the right feet when they are not, or they want to wear wellies in the middle of a heatwave,” she said. “Those everyday moments can really test our own patience and emotional regulation.”

If they can’t make their own choices, or feel like the choice has been taken out of their tiny hands, this can certainly spark a big old tantrum – hitting, kicking, biting, screeching – as they still don’t have the ability to manage their emotions very well. (They’re only two after all – most adults I know still haven’t quite mastered that either, but nobody’s going around calling them ‘terrible’.)

I want to share a bit of reassurance for other parents approaching the toddler years that, aside from the meltdowns, which can obviously be tough to handle (especially in public), two is a marvellous age.

You see, your child is learning so much – songs, stories, words, how to navigate relationships with others. There’s nothing like having an unhinged dinnertime conversation with a two-year-old or trying to decode what they’re saying (the other day my youngest said we were going “to the zoom, then the flaps, then the books”). Another time she abruptly told me “no, you can’t” but didn’t quite pronounce the last word correctly. (I’ll let you determine how that actually came out.)

Two is the age of them not quite nailing long words, like blupperply (butterfly) and squealing with excitement when an ant runs past. It’s a time of potty training pride (“look Mummy, my got pants on!”), phallic art work, and being extra-willing to help you with any household chore. (Ask a toddler to help you hang up washing on a clothes horse, or empty the dishwasher, and it’s like you’ve just promised them a lifetime supply of ice cream.)

There’s mischief and mayhem, for sure, but there are also so many exciting firsts, and their personality begins to really shine through. You begin to see yourself – or your partner – reflected back in the mannerisms of a tiny person, or watch as they develop their own interests. Right now we’re loving cooking and playing in the pretend kitchen – and nothing brings my toddler joy quite like making me a ‘coffee and a croissant’ or simply a plate of ‘couscous’.

Perhaps the most wonderful thing about two-year-olds, though, is the sheer amount of love they have to give those around them.

There is something so special about going into my two-year-old’s room each morning and seeing her beaming at me from her cot. I’ll pick her up and she’ll lean in close for a cuddle, like she’s not seen me for weeks on end. She’ll gently tell me she loves me and has figured out how to make a heart shape with her fingers. Honestly, there’s nothing cuter.

If I’m not well (I was recently bedridden with a horrendous stomach bug) she’ll come and lie with me, wide-eyed but still sucking her thumb, asking “you OK, mummy?” before tenderly stroking my face. Then she’ll rush off somewhere in a hurry, shouting back: “I get you teddy.” Granted that teddy might end up bouncing off my face in the next 30 seconds, but it’s the thought that counts.

I guess all of this is to say: if you’re a new parent, or your child’s approaching toddlerhood, and someone warns you about the “terrible twos”, let it wash over you like water off a duck’s back.

Because yes, there will be meltdowns. But there will also be laughter until your stomach hurts, fierce cuddles, endless curiosity and the privilege of watching a tiny person discover who they are.

And if you ask me, that’s far from terrible.

Andy Burnham has unveiled a three-point plan to improve the social care sector after years of neglect”in a major speech.

The prime minister promised to use any political capital he has to implement reforms and set up a system comparable to the NHS.

He said the inability to fix the sector has been a “major dereliction of public duty” from past governments.

Burnham also pointed to his own failures to set up a National Care Service as health secretary in 2010 under Gordon Brown.

“I would never forgive myself if I left [power] without having tried [to fix it],” the prime minister said.

He added that it was “shameful” there had been no major changes to the system despite 22 reviews into fixing the sector over the last 27 years.

Burnham also claimed the UK social care system is “as unfair as American healthcare”.

His three-point plan includes asking Baroness Louise Casey to bring forward her independent review of the social care sector by a year, meaning it will now be published in 2027.

“Ideally we want to do it even sooner but we have to be realistic,” he said. “I think we can rise to this challenge with the urgency it requires.”

Her review will look at how to integrate social care with the rest of the health system, while also being “person-centred”.

“That’s what we’re asking Louise to give us, her report on how do we deliver a national care service in England that sits alongside the National Health Service?” the prime minister added.

Burnham also called for a focus on the social care workforce.

He praised his predecessor Keir Starmer’s work on setting up a fair pay agreement, due to come into effect in 2028-29, which establishes a minimum salary for workers.

He described that deal as a “massive building block” but said his government would “look at how we turn the fair pay agreement to turn into a bigger reform”.

The PM said he would ask his ministers to consider potentially increasing the pay and working conditions of care workers in line with those working in the NHS, while strengthening the possibility of further career progression.

He claimed care workers should be the “best paid people in society, not the worst.”

The prime minister also pointed to his decision to start cross-party talks now, after inviting the Tories and the Lib Dems to discuss care reforms.

“We’re all going to have to give and take,” he said, in order to make progress to set up a new “social consensus”.

“That process starts today, it will run alongside others teams of work we are doing,” Burnham said shortly before he was due to speak to the Conservatives and Lib Dems’ Ed Davey.

“I’m not going to be deflected by the point-scoring or the screaming headlines that come out of the point-scoring,” he said, alluding to Reform UK’s outrage at not being invited to the talks.

He said the political and media cultures have shut down serious debates about progress in social care in the past.

Burnham insisted he would not be deterred by some of the headlines that will “inevitably appear” and efforts to create scare stories through what they’re seeing, either.

Asked if it’s feasible to create change without raising taxes, the prime minister insisted he would stick by Labour’s manifesto pledges.

He added: “So I think we owe it to the public before we talk about tax rises. And I know Louise [Casey] will help us with this.

“You first have to look the public in the eye and say, are we doing everything we can do from within what we’ve got? And I don’t think we can say that because we’ve taken a different approach to funding local government than we have to the NHS.”

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Some have criticised Christopher Nolan’s new film, The Odyssey, for not having any Greek actors in it. Nonetheless, Greece’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, seems pretty happy with the film.

In a recent video call held with the British director, Mitsotakis praised the record-breaking blockbuster, per Euronews.

According to a press statement from the PM’s office, he thanked Nolan for “boosting global interest in ancient Greek civilisation”, adding, “such productions bridge Greece’s rich cultural heritage with contemporary creativity.”

Sales of The Odyssey’s text have skyrocketed since the release of the movie.

Mitsotakis also commended the Tenet director’s use of Greek locations.

Parts of the movie were shot in the Peloponnese region of Greece, including Voidokilia Beach, the 13th-century Methoni Castle, the monolithic Acrocorinth overlooking the city of Corinth, Almyrolaka Beach, and Nestor’s Cave.

And the Prime Minister reportedly mentioned the movie’s “great box office success”, too.

The Odyssey is already the second-highest-grossing R-rated movie Universal has made since Nolan’s other huge hit, Oppenheimer. It‘s made $639.6 million (£480.5 million) since its release on 17 July globally.

This comes after classical studies professor Emily Wilson, whose 2017 translation of The Odyssey seems to have inspired Christopher Nolan’s version, criticised the movie in the London Review of Books.

Comparing the three-hour epic to “an elaborate Fourth of July fireworks display – and with about the same level of narrative and emotional depth,” she suggested the movie was “too underdeveloped to deliver what it half-promises in terms of big ideas – although it is very good at conveying big bangs and big giants.”