nightmare 6 year old

[tappy]

does something happen to a child when they are 6 mine seems to have turned into a nightmare, everything is an argument.we never seem to have any good days at the moment and i feel like all i do is tell her off. anyone else with 6 year old?

i was thinking about a reward chart but where do you start theres so much

im beginning to sound really pathetic think i need a holiday

Write down a list of "rules" that you wish she would keep to without an argument, then choose the 5 you really want her to stick to
Give her a star for each one each day, and at the end of the day she gets a reward - sweeties, an hours tv, an extra half hour before bed, an extra story whatever, with a bigger reward if she does them all week
Following week add another rule - in the meantime, try not to get worked up about the other things. Oh, and don't call them rules! What about "our things to get done chart" or similar

Its hard to start with and you must be consistent and firm with her, but it does get better, honestly

Hi Tappy - I've got a 6 yr-old (boy), and a 4-yr-old too and we have good days and bad days ... Yesterday was a dreadful day - one of the worst for ages and ages. Made me feel a complete failure of a mum.

Anyway, for us rewards work (sometimes), threats and punishments don't. So if there is a certain type of behaviour that is really getting me down, we do a sticker chart with a stated promise of a reward, and usually this motivates him (but not always). And he still gets the reward even if his behaviour isn't up to standard in other areas.

Another thing that seems to be working for us, is giving him a bit more responsibility. So we all sat down as a family and drew up some rules together ... some of the most strict rules were suggested by ds1! Also when he does something outrageous I try really hard (and don't always succeed) to stay really calm, and explain to him that what he has done is unacceptable, and then ask him what he thinks we should do about it.

As I say, the strategies don't all work all the time (yesterday ) but they do seem to help sometimes ... today is going well so far.

Hope things improve for you soon, and that you have some really good days this half term.

thanks everyone for your tips i am going to make up a chart today and give it a try

I am having the same problems with my 6 yr old girl (she thinks she is 16) if she were a little older I would think she was hormonal! one day she said on the way home from school: I'm not running ahead like the other children, because I want to walk with you cause I love you so much ! the next day she ran off and called me a fat cow! - please tell me that they can't be getting hormonal at 6. However since then, we have introduced pocket money - she gets £2.50 on a Saturday - only if every day she makes her bed, goes to sleep nicely every night and tidys her room - her room is immaculate! she takes so much pride, she has even started saving to get what she wants.