3 yr old hates Christmas??

[alex1889]

My just turned 3 year old is just not having any of it this morning.

We tried to get her really excited for Santa and this morning showed her all the presents left under the tree for her. She started crying and said "no Christmas! No presents!" And ran away! So fine, we left it, had breakfast and then tried again. She is throwing the presents around, refusing to unwrap them, when I unwrap them for her she just throws the present on the ground.

I've ended up in tears over it and am in the bedroom crying.

Has anyone else's little one behaved like this on Christmas morning? What can I do?

My little one used to take a week to open his presents at that age, he was just overwhelmed. My current little one has opened maybe 5 gifts and has had to go out for a walk to relax from all the excitement 😂😂😂. Just take your time.

PFB DS1 was overwhelmed by Christmas at that age, his siblings weren't as they had excited older siblings leading the way 😂

Your Dd probably didn't know what was happening last year and this year is understanding better and trying to make sense with it. I'm guessing all the presents, the hype you have added trying to make her excited has overwhelmed her a little. My nephew was like this exactly on his 3rd birthday party, he wouldn't cooperate, hated everything, hated people, hated the balloons and didn't want to blow candles but on his 4th birthday he was fine. Don't take any offence because toddlers/kids can be very unpredictable. I've booked amazing days out for my DS and only for it to be thrown back in my face with constant whinging and whining and crying.

Yep, they just get so over awed by the whole thing they crash. DD when 2 and a half, had a flurry of opening everything, screaming with delight and laughter, then we went for a mid morning walk and play with her new trike, she fell asleep on the way home and slept for 5 hours straight, right through Xmas lunch, and 3 films. DH was working nights so was also asleep upstairs and I was just stuck on the sofa under a sleeping toddler, eating whatever chocolate I could reach.

Bless you OP, it's hard when we've got hopes and expectations of our children spending Christmas full of joy. We learnt from watching our niece two Christmases ago get completely overwhelmed by the 30+ presents my in-laws got her (she was about 3 at the time). After a few presents she was being given more and more and she was actively saying "no more presents" and took most of the day for her to be encouraged to open them all, to be honest I found it all a bit distressing to watch. Our DS is 3 and he's had a small stocking from father Christmas and then just 4 presents from me and dad. I think as others say it can be really overwhelming for them around this age, I'm sure she'll enjoy opening them over a period of time, maybe a few today and some tomorrow?

*a toy we knew she'd love (a rocking cradle for her dolls) and then she softened up a a bit and got in to it.

What a stress!*

You were probably a little overwhelmed too

My 4yo is a lovely age for it now and properly got it last year I think (although she was a devil child yesterday). When she was about 18m she just sobbed and cried when she came down for the presents. My nearly 2 year old has had quite a few tantrums but has enjoyed present opening. She’s conked out now for her nap so hoping everything will be less manic this afternoon. It really is quite overwhelming for them as there is a lot of build up in schools, nurseries etc, they can be out of routines, eating more sugar etc.

You'll have a good funny story to tell her when she's a bit older In fact, she'll want to hear the story of 'The Year I Hated Christmas' every year for the rest of her childhood.

Seem to remember DS freaking out one year when we sang Happy Birthday to him. "No Happy Dobby! NO HAPPY DOBBY!!"

My daughter is the same. Used to get very upset on Christmas Day. She's a teen now and this morning she took all her presents upstairs to her room to open, because she's got "performance anxiety"😂 she's ASD so I suppose it's part of that. Easier to just jet them go at their own pace x

Ds is 8 but has ASD and is emotionally about 3-4 so similar response to yours. We have learnt (the very hard way ) no more than 2-3 presents at a time. ( he is ok with lots of small bits in a stocking ) and mix up toys/books/onesies etc. No more than 1 stimulating gift in any batch. Sometimes it can take until new year. Often we call it a day and keep stuff for his birthday in Feb if we can see he has had enough. We have still had one violent meltdown this morning but it was fairly short rather than destroying the whole day !

OPs DD said no. OP then continued to persist.... (for her own benefit). The child said no and ran off!! It’s no bloody wonder she threw the presents!

And thats why there are so many children now that think they can do whatever they please. Its not ok to pick things up and throw them around because your upset or annoyed.

My eldest hated Christmas when she was 3. She refused to open anything in front of my parents and only opened a few things with my DH in her bedroom. Youngest coped much better today but bit sensitive and dashed to her room in tears a few times (not like her), but she wasn't used to the structure of the day, when presents were to be opened etc.