I'm struggling at the mo. My fantastic 5.5yr old DS is brilliant, bright, fun and totally wilful. He says no a lot. A lot. A lot. Did I say a lot? he also says 'I want...' nearly as often. Nor does he like playing on his own at all.
I'm not doing a good job of handling it. Every day I start anew, with bright expectations for another day - or new strategies -, and by the end I've shouted or gone mad inside with frustration. I hear how i react and I hate it. I can't seem to get a handle on it. My husband is much much better. Calmer and more able to deal with it - they seem much happier and easier together. DH is able to coerce him where I fail or get irritable.
I worry DS behaviour is my fault. That i've been too controlling or bossy, and he's learnt it from me. I worry that I get cross. I'm deep in perimenopause and find both my energy levels and frustration points are much lower than ever - although I've always been fairly short-tempered, to be honest.
I'm almost in tears reading this. Honest to god, I see so many other mothers cope better than me. I'm doing a crap job and I can't say I'm enjoying it massively at the moment either.