How to stop DD1 constantly playing the fool...?

[Noomininoo]

DD1 is 4.6yo & is generally a lovely, kind, generous little girl. She can be a little naughty & defiant but my main problem with her at the moment is that she refuses to take anything seriously & is always playing the fool.

One example of her doing this is at ballet class. Whilst all of the other little girls are lined up nicely & listening to the teacher, DD1 is talking, giggling, throwing herself on the floor, pretending to fall over & generally being silly. She does much the same thing at the after school reading club we go to & trying to get her to do anything at home is just a nightmare. I usually end up having to lose my temper & get cross with her (after about the umpteenth time of asking her to do something) before she'll even listen to me & even then she's usually still acting the goat as she doing whatever it is I've asked her to do (thus taking twice as long to do it).

I don't want to change her fun, playful nature but I need her to understand that there are times to be silly & times to stop & listen & do as your told.

How can I stop this constant silliness...?

Ah jeepers she's 4! It's very small....I like chldren who are full of beans. My DD1 is so shy she's like a little statue at times! Be happy she's full of energy. She's probably tired too...they often get "silly" when they've had a full day at school and then go to an activity.

Make time for fun. Make it clear when something is serious and have a consequence ready if necessary. Can't imagine ballet teacher is impressed!

It sounds to me like she's doing it for attention. The sillier she is, the more you are required to persuade/refocus her and she enjoys it. I'd say that if she starts to be silly when she is supposed to be focused on a task then disengage from her and dish out appropriate rewards/consequences once she has stopped being silly, depending on whether she followed your instructions or not.

maybe she isnt interested in either ballet or the reading club

Thanks for the replies.

Whoopsyla I realise she's only 4 & I don't want to change her fun & playful nature but I do need her to understand that she can't be silly ALL the time. There are 3 year olds in her ballet class who can manage to stand still & listen to the teacher without talking over him, giggling constantly, pretending they've got jelly legs & falling over all the time... She is just so disruptive for the other people in the class & the teacher does struggle to control her .

ll31 maybe if she was only doing it in ballet & reading club then I might think that too but she does it constantly. In school, at swimming lessons (which I know she loves!), at home, up GPs... Ballet & reading club were just the examples I chose out of a very long list

I'm all for being silly when its appropriate & when it is I'm right there being silly with her . I think ellesabe is right - it is classic attention seeking behaviour but I never really know what to do to correct this. Maybe I could just ignore it when I'm at home but the ballet/swimming teachers can't as she's disrupting the whole class .

Perhaps she doesnt like doing ballet ?

Do you not have a 'gimlet stare' employed at times like this - I swear my Mum had medusa genes, she could paralyse me with a hard look! (I lay no claims to having one myself)

LOL Beamur - I wish! I've tried 'the stare' but it generally just gets ignored

I would be inclined to ignore, as you would do with any unwanted behaviour

She has worked out that larking around guarantees maximum payout, attention-wise so change your response to it

Can you turn the tables on her? Are there times when she needs you to be sensible and focussed but instead you show her up and disappoint her. Might make her think twice.

Stop the classes. If she really enjoys them, it'll make her stop and think. If she doesn't, then why is she doing them?

I agree with seeker - she's clearly not engaged with the classes so I'd stop them.