Hi fellow im's!
I NEED your help! I am mum to a 5year old boy and a 10 year old girl however my 10 year old loves with her father (her preference and I fully support that!) my son is with me full time excluding every second weekend and half holidays. I am completely at my whits end with him! I on him constantly and consistently discipline him but I just can't get him to listen to a word I say! I have tried every method I can think of and other methods suggested to me including smacking (which I feel incredibly guilty about) and NOTHING works! He blatantly refuses to do anything he is told and is stubborn enough to carry on as long as it takes to prove his point! I love him with all me heart but I don't know how to cope anymore! He is due to start school this year and I am terrified he will be the same there! I need advice! I need guidance! I have very little support and find his father, whilst be a loving man toward him, makes the situation so much worse letting him get away with whatever he likes. I'm just so fed up! I'm so tired! And completely out of ideas! I am currently waiting for an appointment with a paediatrician but really need some ideas!
Thank you!!!
5yo terror!
5yo terror!
Posted in:
Parenthood Guilt, Behaviour, Kids
1 Replies
I'd wait for the peadiatrician, I'd also get a referral to a behavioural psychologist. A peadiatrician can be helpful in regards to discovering any underlying developmental/behavioural diagnosis but as far as giving actual parenting strategies that are helpful I've found them quite useless!
While you wait, pick your battles and give your child loads of choices. Eg you can get dressed or wash the walls? You know which one a child will pick! You can brush your teeth or clean up your toys. Praise the shit out of him when he makes the choices and he does anything good. For example my difficult nephew will ask for coffee, I'm not giving the bugger coffee, so I offer him a hot chocolate or a milo as his choices. It takes the battle of the wills out of it because I've offered alternatives without saying no.
What does your sons kindy say about his behaviour? If he is doing well at kindy it's unlikely an underlying disorder and more likely he is just being a stubborn five year old, either way you need support to get through this and a behavioural psych can really help.