DD 4 and a half constantly repeating her desires on holiday

Five DDs here. It is normal (and we have a pool at home!!).
Holidays are so exciting! I can remember it myself, me and my siblings being desperate to go ‘to the pool’ from the moment we opened our eyes.

We’re on the first full day of our holiday, we were in the pool at 6:45 as our daughter was so excited about it she was basically stuck on squealing, she’s now very quietly eating her breakfast. Neither of us wanted to get in the pool at that time, but she was really excited and we knew if we got in she would enjoy that, but also it would actually make for an easier day for us too.

Any time was pool time for my two at that age. If they can’t already swim* a warm holiday pool is brilliant for turning them into baby dolphins. Of course you have to take any armbands off and stay with them but so well worth it.
*And I don’t mean ‘proper’ strokes - they can come later. Doggy paddle or tadpole wriggle is fine.

My four year old DS does the same.
Persists until he gets what he wants!

@napkinbear could be age but both my boys were like that and both have now been diagnosed with ADHD

This!! It works because it shows you are actually listening and care about what they are saying.

She's just really excited! Last year my husband was in the pool with our son before we even had breakfast because he just wanted to swim (villa with pool).

Maybe just get up and go swim? It doesn't take long to shower and have a cup of tea, then get out.

I’m also in my 50s and the last time I went on holiday with my parents I was about 20. The reason I never went again was my frustration at my mother and sister wasting half the day having a shower, blow drying their hair, choosing their outfit and applying a full face of make up to go to the pool or beach.

Then when we came home after a day out, we couldn’t eat dinner until the whole process was repeated again.

We were not allowed to do anything until they were ready, we had to do everything together as it was a Family Holiday .

I can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about it decades later 😂

My similar age DD is like this a lot of the time. Constantly asking ‘where are we going today/ tomorrow’, ‘when are we going’, ‘what are we doing next’ etc. She hates it when we don’t do anything and wants to be doing something all the time. I think it’s quite normal but also depends on their personality as I’m sure there’s plenty of children happy to relax at home.

Perfect and lifts your own mood too, if needed, in a sort of fake it 'til you make it way🤽

This. She is far too young for an iPad anyway. No wonder she doesn’t know how to be bored.

And walk her past the pool but not let her get in?

Sometimes kids have to wait for the good stuff while the grown-ups get ready. That's life, does them no harm.

Glad I wasn't the only one thinking that.

Take her out I mean....

I cant believe anyone would punish a 4 year old for not wanting to sit in an iPad!!

Can't one of you get up with her and ahenis out for a walk round the resort ?

That’s a horrible thing to say to a child. It’s also very damaging. How is a child supposed to learn how to express her needs and desires if she can’t say what she wants.

When my kids do this (6yr olds), I tell them I am not answering the same question again. If they ask again I stay quiet. If they get upset by that then I ask them ‘what did mummy say about x?’, which 99% leads them to say what I’ve told them. They reinforce the answer themselves this way.

Try saying ‘when did mummy say we could go to the pool?’ / ‘what are we doing before we go to the pool?’ Etc.

So often, we adults shut down our children instead of acknowledging them.

"I want to go to the pool" actually means, "I am so excited about going to the pool that I can't contain it and I don't understand why we're not dropping everything and going right now because going to the pool is so exciting to me that I can't think about anything else and I can't comprehend that everyone doesn't feel the same".

And you reply, "no, I've already said we're not going until 8.30 when we've had breakfast and made the beds" and feel exasperated. And she's exasperated too so she repeats herself.

A really effective parenting tactic is to acknowledge and affirm what your small child is saying. Have you tried, "I know, you're so excited!! You really can't wait to go to the pool!! Are you going to go on the blue slide first, or the splash pool?"

Or even, "I hear you. You REALLY want to go to the pool! You can't wait!"

It might feel a bit cheesy, but honestly, this was a game changer for me.

Not my idea - I got it from HTTSKWLALSKWT - and I used this little trick on all three of mine. It changed how we communicate. I still use it now as a primary school teacher.

Lock the phone and iPad in the safe and get them out for the journey home. You're on holiday! 😃🌞

My kids do this when we aren't even on holiday! I turn into my mother and say 'I want never gets!' Or 'give my head peace' 🤣

I can hear my Dads booming voice now "the more you ask, the longer you have to wait"
me and my sister used to think he was a right fun sponge but I admit I've done the same to my own children albeit in a more light hearted way
"the first rule about the pool is no one talks about the pool!"

At four though it is kind of expected, I used to go full CBeebies presenter and say "mee too, I can't wait to have breakfast/shower then we can go it's so exciting isn't it, can you pack the towels into the bag while I brush my teeth"

It doesn’t solve the whole problem, but for things you will do with her and she ‚just‘ has to wait for, the free apps Time Timer and Visual Timer (both the same sort of thing) are excellent.

OP posted at 8:08 Spanish time. That's not pool time!