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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask if 6 is a particularly difficult age in girls

38 replies

Timeforachange2018 · 05/03/2018 19:36

I feel awful writing this as I love my 6 year old daughter more than anything but she has become really challenging of late.
She is quite rude, doesn’t listen to anything I say to her, constantly complains and shouts at everyone. I am finding it so difficult not to lose my temper with her when it’s constant battles over everything- food, doing homework, what to wear etc etc. She seems unhappy but I can’t get to the bottom of it. I feel like my lovely little girl has gone somewhere! She knows how loved she is as we tell our kids every day.
I’ve been into school to talk to the teacher about it- he says that she’s fine in class- there are friend issues too but that seems to be he case with all the girls.
It’s really getting me down- I literally get no peace at home from the constant demands and behaviour issues and it’s making me feel like home isn’t a family sanctuary but a place of conflict.
Aibu to ask for advice - is 6 a difficult age for girls? My DS has never been difficult like this.

OP posts:

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 05/03/2018 20:47

It can happen in year 1 too. Especially if she’s older in the year. She might have grown out of it by the time she hits year 2 and returned to ‘normal’.

GuinefortGrey · 05/03/2018 20:52

My DD is 6 (7 in June) and is going through a similar stage with moods and talking back etc. Apparently all her friends laughed at her and called her a baby because she had a Paw Patrol cup at school today 😢. Mean girls start early these days.

MyNameIsNotSteven · 05/03/2018 20:54

If it's any comfort my recently 8 year old gets lovelier and lovelier as time goes on. We have driven each other mad in the past but things are definitely much, much better.

LongWavyHair · 05/03/2018 21:10

YABU. I can tell you now 6/7 isn't just a difficult age for girls.
My just turned 7 year old DS has developed an attitude and this started happening about 4 or 5 months ago. He can be quite naughty/answers back/refuses to do as he's told etc.. and its like having a stroppy teenager. He seems more tired too and I don't think the cold weather helps any child really.
He was an absolute dream prior to all this going on!
Children of that age are expected to do a lot at school too, so it's no wonder they bit fed up and exhausted and act up!

InfiniteCurve · 05/03/2018 21:18

I had some wonderful child development books when DC were little (there was one for each year - your five year old,your six year old) .For 11 it said,cheerfully,pretty much "11 is a difficult age and will remind you of when your child was 6" .....at that point DD was 11 and DS was 6.

6 is a difficult age,this too will pass!

FancyRibbon · 05/03/2018 21:27

Steven that’s nice to know!

IlikemyTeahot · 05/03/2018 21:31

yup...that hormone rush

Gingercatlover · 05/03/2018 21:42

Mine has just turned 7 and has been awful for several months, like you say everything's a battle and everything's my fault.
No advice but you're not alone 😟

LokiBear · 05/03/2018 21:43

My dd is 6.5 and behaves like a moody teenager. I find it hard a times. I think her world was rocked by the addition of her sister 12 months ago. She is so attention seeking now. I must be honest, I regularly feel like a crap mum.

Singlebutmarried · 06/03/2018 07:24

SophieLouise it all came out after Christmas 2016.

She refused point blank to go to school, couldn’t get her dressed or anything. She sat in floods of tears.

My heart sank when she said why, wed out the akwardness and behaviour down to going into Y1 and the classes being mixed up from reception.

We ended up moving schools in jan of this year (the waiting list was long) and she’s so much happier.

Maybe if we’d have had the support from the original school it mightn’t have come to that, but they were rubbish.

Allyg1185 · 06/03/2018 07:35

Just wanted to say my ds is 6 (7 in June) and you could have been writing about him!

He is exactly the same and feel like everyday is a battle with him. Everythings an arguement and sometimes he makes arguements out of nothing eg me " oh its cold today eh?" Ds " no its not I think its roasting" I obviously don't rise to these comments but I swear he could cause an arguement in an empty room.

Don't really have any advice for you sorry. I'm following what everyone else is saying with interest but at least your not alone

Chilver · 06/03/2018 07:49

Our Dr turned 6 last week and its like a switch was turned off in her brain on the day!! She doesn't hear us (not even not listening, genuinely doesn't seem to hear our voices), is away with the fairies and pfaffs all the time - and never stops singing!! It's infuriating having to repeat ourselves multiple times for EVERY instruction or question!!! I asked her teacher whether she'd noticed a change and she said no! So just saves it up for home.....

baylisbaylis · 06/03/2018 07:57

My DD went through this (she's now 9) and only now coming out of it. DS now 6 has been similar for the past year. Went to have a word with his teacher last year (when he was still Year 1).
Her response?:
Give him a break.
He spends 7 hours every day working hard and behaving well, do you really expect him to carry that on when he gets home? Let him be a child and get off his back.

Whilst I still don't tolerate rudeness his teacher did have a point... and things at home have been much nicer since I took her advice, and it's become easier to make him listen/do work at home also, as there is less of a battle everyday.

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