Are most kids like this?

DD is 8 and I wouldn't say she's like this but all kids are different. She does have regular activities through the week and weekends but she isn't pestering us to do things. When she has free time I'll find her sketching, reading, and making up games with her sister. We do spend a lot of time with the dcs at weekends (days out, visiting attractions and shows etc) but we quite enjoy it as parents, we find lots of activities to suit us all and don't want to just sit around in our spare time.

Tell her that her boredom isn't your problem - my dd knew by then not to moan she was bored or she'd get given a job!

If this makes you ill, then it’s getting a bit odd. What happens if you say no to your dd?

I have an 18 yo and an 8 yo. iPads didnt exist when the eldest was young and it took us ages before we even bought one. My 8 yo has grown up with one. I have realiy had to cut his expectation and time in it. It is addictive.

My son (7) is like this. I chalk it up to being the only child in the house. At least it shows she likes your company. My son is going through a phase where bedtime takes 3 hours because he's become rather silly and playful in the evenings and yes it drives me mad, no I'm not getting enough sleep but my gosh I'll miss it when it stops. As someone previously mentioned they'll be teenagers soon and won't want or need our constant attention (if any at all). Take 5 minutes out to calm down when things get rough and go back to being together. When I'm really zonked I just stick a film on, that way we're together but I can still catch up on the news, answer his constant question and waste time on here while he's cuddly and content next to me. He's awaiting an adhd assessment and I find the physical closeness of sofa/movie time helps reconnect us after a big emotions day.

She needs time to be bored and learn to occupy herself.

I remember around that age having literal tantrums because of how bored I was! I did develop an excellent imagination and I'm now very good at occupying myself.

I take the same approach with my 2 (10&7) and just ride out the moaning and pestering.

At 8 she is far too old to be behaving like this. If mine did this they were sent away to find something to do for 30mins or there would be a consequence. The only children I know who
does this are a friends child who grew up having soMething Pencilled in every second of the day. She as well just cannot occupy herself for a second. My friend very much regretted being so overly involved. At 11 she is still like this and friend very frustrated.

Can you start her with a craft activity, or Lego or something, then gently disengage to do something else when she’s engrossed? It sounds like she’s always entertained by having someone else around, so this is a new skill she needs to learn.

And why would you try to hide that you’re cross with your daughter for constantly nagging about one thing all day?! Anyone would be cross, that’s very poor behaviour and unlikely to be tolerated by anyone else in her future life. You’re doing her no favours.

Entertaining yourself is an essential skill. If your daughter was lacking in any other essential skill you wouldn’t just accept it, you’d come up with a plan and practice, building up slowly.

That’s what you need to do with your daughter. Make it clear to her that she is old enough to occupy herself for, say, 15 minutes daily and then withdraw while she does. Tell her you’re doing something and don’t want to be disturbed. Have consequences for being disturbed, and follow though on them. Then build up the amount of time and frequency.

I actually feel a bit ill from it today, she has not stopped asking the same thing over and over, we are trying not to get cross but its so hard with her

I would be cross and my DD would know I was if she had behaved like that all day. You don’t have to shout or lose it, but it’s not going to hurt her to see that it’s too much and it’s left you feeling unhappy.

Yes, I know the feeling! You have my sympathies.

I would recommend you get the wheels in motion for an assessment. Don’t be surprised if the school doesn’t agree with you - DD2 turned out to be dyslexic and have ADHD and neither the primary nor the secondary school noticed, because intelligent girls are extremely good at hiding it. I knew there was something wrong with DD2 but had no clue what it was until after her A-Levels.

B - build. Lego, a den, house of cards, Jenga, cake, play dough.
O - outside. Garden, park, football, scooter, sand.
R - read. A book, a magazine, homework.
E - earn. Do a chore and earn money.
D - draw. Colour, write, crafts, painting, chalk.

My son who’s also 8 and an only child is going through this phase right now. He is also taken out a lot, does clubs, play dates, has plenty of toys/games/books/garden but seems to want to be entertained 24/7 right now!
Normally he can entertain himself for a while but lately he has been moaning about being bored.
I don’t have an answer but I can say that I know how you feel! So reading with interest.

No. They really aren’t all like that.

I think iPads etc have a lot to do with this. My two (9 & 12) are like crack addicts honestly
id love to throw the bloody devices in the bin and be done with it

Always bored and never sits still….. could be ADHD. But obviously may well not be. These were/are the most obvious signs in DD2 who is now a young adult. But obviously there is more to it than this. What’a
she Like at school? How’s her sleep?

Absolutely this. Next time she says she's bored, get her doing a chore. Then keep doing that. You'll either get a spick and span house or she'll learn to occupy herself!

Our DS is the same as this. He's 7. Even when he's doing something by himself like Lego he talks to me constantly about it. We go to a park and he wants me to play with him on stuff. It's relentless

My DD is completely like this. She is only 4 but has been demanding 100% of my attention since day one. She rarely sits at peace and just constantly needs to be doing something and looking for attention. It's hard and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I try to play with her for a bit then encourage her to continue the game alone. This worked with DS but not DD. She is just different. She's at nursery and is a ringleader. She has a group of girls she hangs out with, and they all play the game she suggests. I don't know if she's just going to be a big personality. I could definitely see her still being the same at 8.