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5 year old negative about so many things

2 replies

smiley76 · 10/09/2014 14:25

My just turned 5 year old boy has been going through a negative stage for quite some time. Since January he complained a lot about the other children in his class in nursery, it was a tricky class and he has now started Reception in a different class. He started with a really positive attitude but the negativity is slipping in again. He used to be so patient, he now finds it hard to wait for anything. He complains about sitting on the mat, he used to complain a lot about sitting on the mat in nursery but the teachers all said he was a role model for the class and was really good at sitting and concentrating. Now he is starting to find it more and more difficult and he is again starting to find problems all around him. So and so disturbs me, it's so boring, I don't like this, she keeps touching my lunch box etc.. etc... I don't believe we are complaining parents, I have been open to his behaviour coming from us but I dont' think it is. I'm getting really anxious about it and it really depresses me. I try to not 'talk about it too much' so it doesn't become a reason to get attention but try to talk about it enough so he feels heard and I can help. However he complains so much it seems and I don't know how to change my own attitude towards it or how to help him overcome it. He just wants to play. He's one of the oldest in his year and apparently he has started off very well academically but he says it's hard among other things. Please does anyone have any advice or does anyone have any experience with this sort of behaviour.

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babypup · 10/09/2014 16:50

It could maybe be an adjustment thing...once he gets use to the new routines and finds his place within the new class he will be more positive about things? My son tends to behave this way when he is actually feeling a bit stressed/out of his depth. He makes out everything is so boring/beneath him because he is actually struggling with it all a little, so I guess it's a defence mechanism with him. He is also 5 and just started school. Was a bit like like this for the first week and now his confidence is growing he seems more engaged and less aloof! x

smiley76 · 11/09/2014 04:23

Thank you - yes I think the boring bit is because some of it is a bit hard for him. This morning he kept saying he didn't want to go to school and it was boring and he doesn't like Maths and he doesn't like phonics etc.. but I just ignored it and then when I asked whether he wanted to do 123Maths on the computer, which we've just started and he loves, he was delighted and he also showed me his new phonics sounds with great pride. So I responded really positively to his positivity but ignored his negativity. I just hope I'm not sending messages that we won't listen if he's unhappy but I don't think we've done that at all, we actually asked for him to go to a different class this year because he was unhappy last year so he knows we do listen...I hope!

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