DD Not her normal self

[essextolondon]

Hi All,

Since turning 6 in Ocotober, my DD has not been her normal self. She is generally very laid back, confident and happy. The sort of child who says it as it is and laughs off falling down and gets straight back up again.

She's been having some bother the past couple of months from some girls at school- but it's been more them being a bit mean to her as she won't join in the running games in the playground. The school seem on the ball over it and she doesn't get bothered too much now at all. Also this anxious behaviour has started before this happening.

Earlier in the year for another example, she saw about the floor being lava on Fgteev which is a family channel (it's a game thing) and got convinced we were all going to be killed by lava even though we put a stop to youtube and explained we didn't live near a volcano ourselves. This fear had been bottled up inside for weeks despite this, and we asked her teacher to do some digging of which she told her about the lava and said the my OH and I were telling her she was going to be killed by lava!

Tonight's latest episode has been 30 minutes of hysterical behaviour over the fear of an extremely wobbly tooth falling out- her younger sister knocked one out the other week and it was hilarious on that occasion. I offered to pull it out using bonjela, ice, cuddling a teddy and some sweets after to stop the constant fear - she started kicking me and I was being calm!

She repeatedly kicked and punched me the other day as I didn't account for an ice cream van being outside the school a week after snow and had no money on me to get one. She'd normally make the connection that I couldn't help it and be ok about it.

Also the defiance has increased and the tantrums and she seems to have generally regressed - doesn't speak in full sentences or puts on a younger sounding accent.

I'm exhausted and concerned, should I take her to the GP? Is it a development thing? What experiences can anyone else share?

My OH and I have spilt just over a week ago -the behaviour has been bad as I say for a while before that and hasn't really changed.

[Knittedfairies]

If you had mentioned in your first paragraph that you’d split up with your husband it would have been helpful... 6 year olds are not stupid, and she's picked up on that.

[Fraying]

I'd take her to the GP to rule out a medical cause but honestly I think she's just struggling with everything she has had to deal with. Bullying and your OH leaving are massive issues for a child to process. It's a lot of instability in a short period of time.

[essextolondon]

Do you think she's picked up on the ripples towards the end of our relationship perhaps? The thing is the split has been very amiable, there were no rows or anything like that, but the behaviour has been going on for several months and the split happened last week.

[Fraying]

Yy she will have picked up on the changing dynamic. The bullying will have made her more nervous/anxious and so the period leading up to the split will have been difficult for her. She'll have sensed something had shifted.

[tabbycatbythesea]

Sounds like normal 6yesr old behaviour. Is she in Year 2? Mine all acted like this during this year, they felt worried at school due to SATs and were all wobbly at Home

[essextolondon]

She's in year 1, she has to do her phonics screening this year and I've got parents evening next week so will double check that she's coping ok. Her teacher said yesterday she's been ok in class when I nabbed her at the door and didn't seem concerned.