I don't like my children very much AT ALL at the moment (rant and general moan)

[oliveoil]

They are driving me round the bend.

dd1 has just turned 4. Strops about, refuses to eat stuff she used to like, messing around at bedtime and in the night (I am averaging 3 hours a night atm).

dd2 is 2. Every. Single. Thing. Is. A. Battle. And I mean EVERYTHING. Whether her socks are the 'wrong' colour, or she doesn't like her coat, or her carrots are chopped 'wrong', I spend the whole fockin day being a referee and trying to stop tantrums.

And I am heartily sick of it.

I love them obviously and they are gorgeous yadda yadda yadda

But I am sooooooooooooooooooooo glad I work atm (even though I can hardly keep my eyes open).

How can I make them nice Waltonesque children?

x

Has dd1 just started Reception in September OO?

My 4 yr old's behaviour has deteriorated since starting school, and comparing notes with friends they are experiencing the same with their Year R children...

My 2 were both great at sleeping through as babies, but we went thru HELL at intervals until they were at least 6.
Kids think they're the centre of the universe & we are their slaves - whether you work or not.
Sleep deprivation is used as a method of torture for very good reasons.
You have my sympathy. Send them to stay with their grandparents for the weekend and go to bed at 8 o'clock!

she is not at school yet, only just turned 4 so has another year of playgroup

dd1 went to sleep last night with no whinging but was awake at 2.30pm and said she was 'scared' so I slept in her bed. Breaks every rule in the sodding book but I was tired GOD DAMN IT!

dd2 fell on MIL sold stone kitchen floor yesterday and came home with a huge egg shaped bump on her forehead . She is okay but was a bit clingy last night so she was in bed with dh.

I give up

2.30am

I am quite sure she is on the blag but what can you do? I am putty in the hand of my cute dd all squishy in her pyjamas and sleepy.

oliveoil - has your DD1 got a pushlight? I bought them for my DTS who are 6 now, I wish I'd got them YEARS ago. One of mine had sporadic yelling fits at aged 3, it was 5 months of pure hell for me. My DP worked away Mon to Fri and refused to take annual leave to help. I slept approx 20 mins per night, then had to do 8 hours in the office while DTS1 curled up on a blanket at pre-school. It was hard.

The push lights are great because they're right next to their beds. If DT1 gets distressed during the night which he often does, he will press his light on, toddle off to the loo, come and tell me he loves me (I know, even at 3am - its lovely ), then go back to bed and switch out his light.

Maybe you could take the DDs to the shops and let them choose them, add a bit of bribery, the lights go on the wall. If they play up, you simply remove them. (They actually just stick to the wall, brill!).

here

My two can't wait for lights off. They get 5 mins on their own in the bedroom to arse around and giggle like crazy (that'll be reading time then), and then its lights out.

Good luck, I know its like running through mud but I promise, it does get better, its as easy as pie with my DTS now. Keep going!

have you tried night lights ? Or leaving her light on. and telling her - ok - you can stay awake but you must be quiet because it is the middle of the night, it is sleeping time, and everyone else is alseep. Also - has she got a favourite toy who could help "protect" her in the night ?

It is completely knackering when they do this - you have my sympathy.

Having said that, DS (3.3) got out of bed three times between 8.00pm and 9.45pm last night. And he was very quiet about it so was downstairs and grinning at us while we were watching Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares before we knew it. Goodness knows how many f**ks he heard before I twigged and quickly turned the tv off! At least he doesn't cry about going back to bed. And he eventually stayed there til 7.00am. Must remind childminder NOT to let him have a nap in the afternoon.

They both have nightlights, dd1 has hers on v low all night, dd2 doesn't really bother with hers

both have teddies

sigh

I think I have just bred crap sleepers and will have to trudge on and get through this phase (at least I hope it is a phase.....)

Oliveoil - sorry to bang on, but I just can't bear to think of you "trudging" and "hoping its just a phase" and only getting tiny amounts of sleep. There really are things you can do to help poor sleepers become better sleepers. Don't give up!

My DS is not as good a sleeper as his older sister and he does sometimes appear in our room in the middle of the night and I'm too tired to get up and put him back to bed. So I let him come in with me, but only on the condition that he doesn't muck about. When he's being restless or chatty, or stroking me (bless) I tell him quite firmly that either he settles down and goes to sleep properly with Mummy, or he'll have to go back in his own bed ... that usually does the trick.