3 year old girl behaviour

[sarahscarlet]

hello all
I have a 3 year old girl who has always been quite 'high maintenance' and wondered if anyone else has a similar situation?
She has always had a good routine to her day yet has always woken up during the night - she has gone through periods of sleeping better though has never slept through the night for more than 3 nights in a row.
Her eating habits are great one week - she'll eat most of her meals and lots of fruit and a bit of veg one week then like a bird the next.
Her moods are so different too - she can go for days being an absolute joy to be around to weeks of being oh so attention seeking/tantrums all throughout the day/whiney/rude etc.
I just seem to be doubting my parenting all the time lately as sometimes I feel like it is such a battle to get through the day. She's such a sensitive child and I think she's a bit of a worrier too..... anyone got any advice?

Please don't doubt your parenting! If you are missing sleep then you must be exhausted.

As for the tantrums etc the bet advice really is to praise the good and ignore the bad. I had to try really hard with my dd at that age as she was jealous of newborn ds.

The up and down appetite sounds familiar too. If she is not underweight and not lacking in energy then should be fine.

Best advise, not bet!

My 2 year old is the same, she is a healthy weight and very active so I try not to worry about the eating - when she was little I went through the whole making 3 different meals to see what she would eat fiasco, then decided that if she isn't hungry I should be careful not to teach her to overeat.

She has bad moods too, I do my best to stay calm and remove favourite toys if she misbehaves (usually hits or kicks me) and she sometimes does go to hit a cushion instead to get her frustration out.

I sympathise, sometimes the bad days are very long indeed! Definitely do not doubt your parenting, I think constant guilt that you are not quite doing well enough is actually a sign that you are!

Snap! I have a high maintenance 3 year old girl too and recently her behaviour has driven me insane. Its not helped by the fact that I am on maternity leave after having my DS 6 months ago. I'm not great at being mum 24/7. I'm much more patient when I get a break from it by going out to work. Its the not listening that really gets me and the fact that I have to ask her to do things 25 times! The eating is similar with us too. Sorry I don't have any advice just 'you're not alone'!

Same here. I find the 3yo is much, MUCH harder work than the proverbial terrible twos. Mine gets frustrated easily and the screams she gives out are just an assault on the senses. She can also lash out (hit usually).

Having sometimes to ask many times to get her to do something is so frustrating for me, too.

I try to ignore, ignore, ignore. And try to remember the times she is the sweetest little girl.

Sorry, no advice. Just to say it's not just you...

Hi. I find that variances in the behaviour of mine is usually to do with how much sleep, how much they ate, and if they are ill. Tiredness does not make them very reasonable and the same with hunger too... If I have all that right an they are still being awkward they are usually coming down with a cold. DC1 is a terrible sleeper!

I'm not trying to minimise your experience, but I find that giving them what they want to eat (but they eat won't when ill) works wonders for my sanity, so I prioritise that over avoiding junk food. Lots of carbs before bed helps the sleep...You might already be doing this, but sometimes in the thick of it - its hard to see things like this.