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At wits end with 5yo dd meltdowns - live on eggshells

20 replies

brillopants · 27/08/2017 22:01

I hate living like this. A tiny thing out of the blue can set her off like if I've moved something or don't know the answer to something, she shouts in my face and kicks pinches and screams, sometimes bites. She has such stamina that it can go on for hours, until I can't think straight and just want to get away from her. She cannot abide the word no.

This has only got worst in the last few months, she's always been stubborn but as a baby she met her milestones early and was a happy smiley responsive baby. I am so sad .
I've looked at insecure attachment as we experienced trauma at the hands of her father, and the horror of family court and being forced to hand her over for contact crying and weeing and asking me to keep her safe.

But now she fits the description of pda except for her early years, and this is recent. I am not coping anymore.
My parents don't want to take her overnight anymore, I am covered in scratches and bruises I have no respite. I don't want my life to be like this.
Sometimes, and I'm so ashamed to say it, I feel like I hate her. Sad

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Crazylou · 27/08/2017 22:22

Trauma can emotionally affect young kids as I've seen this happen previously, you need to speak to doctors and health visitors, it might be something you don't want to do, but for your own sanity you need to ask for some professional support at ways to help her especially if she's crying to keep her safe, do you have any siblings off your own or friends that could help in anyway

brillopants · 27/08/2017 22:27

Thanks for replying. I've been to doctors and got several referrals to cahms but there is no help there, they are stretched to their limit. School have tried too.

The truth is nobody really cares. There aren't the resources, I will have to start to look at paying for some sort of assessment/ therapy.

Does anyone have a child like mine? Any strategies re the controlling behaviour and angry outbursts? She can be great with other people and saves all the shit for me.

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brillopants · 27/08/2017 22:33

And I told Cafcass and health visitor and Drs about the altered behaviour when going to contact, Cafcass said I had to be the adult and force her to go.
Ffs she was shaking and pissing herself.
Now when she goes I think some of these recent behaviours are coping strategies. He is vvv controlling. But I am having deja vu as I am triggered by her behaviour as it is so reminiscent of his in the relationship.

I feel like I want to sue Cafcass for not believing me first time ( contact has been reduced now. ) But it's TOO FUCKING BASTARDING LATE BECAUSE MY BABY IS PERMANENTLY DAMAGED.

Sorry. Just so sad.

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Identity1 · 27/08/2017 23:00

Oh my gosh I just have to say I'm so so sorry for you and your DD, but please don't give up on trying to get help. Probably a silly question but have you spoken to DD about the contact she has with her dad and what happens? I'm so very sorry I don't have much advice cos I came on here looking for some advice regarding my own two DSs who have driven me nuts today, and probably most days for the last few weeks with their behaviour .... best wishes x

brillopants · 27/08/2017 23:07

Thanks Identity.
Yes I've tried indirectly but she knows not to talk about her time with her dad, although she is more forthcoming as she's got older. She comes back with terrible bite marks on her arms from anxiety.

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Crazylou · 27/08/2017 23:11

They can't make her go if she doesn't want to / and if you don't want her to go either, as it won't be helping her it's obvious that it's distressing her and you know your own child, If you think contact is contributing to her behaviour then you can stop all together no one can force you to let her go, unless it's through courts, if it was I would ask for supervised contact so they can see for themselves

Identity1 · 27/08/2017 23:34

I'm with crazylou on this one I don't think she should be forced to go (if not through courts) and coming back with bite marks - she shouldn't have to be doing that to 'cope' with it. It obviously distresses her, which leads to the bebavioor you have described. I think you should look at reassessing the contact and supervised visits seems a good start x

brillopants · 28/08/2017 02:12

I know, that would be the rational, humane thing to do wouldn't it.?
But family court is brutal. And long winded. We went back to court to try to vary the order and so I at least got contact temporarily reduced ( she was going all weekend and only goes one day a fortnight now) we go back in October. He says it's all me of course. And I say it's him. And the system.

So this is beyond my control atm.

But the behaviour now- the intolerance to no, the need for control, the utterly awful, neighbour banging on the wall inducing meltdowns and violence. Anyone know how to deal with?

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Pansiesandredrosesandmarigolds · 28/08/2017 09:21

I've heard a book called 'The Explosive Child' recommended here.

brillopants · 28/08/2017 09:59

Thanks Pansies, I've got it and am slowly working through. She isn't open to any negotiation or compromise, or calm discussion . She can't see beyond the thing she wants, I ask her to speak to me calmly as it is hard to understand her when she's screMing at me . ( I do this when shes calm). She can't take it in.

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Stinkycleanhouse · 28/08/2017 10:10

How is she at school?
Does she have many friends / progressing well academically?

brillopants · 28/08/2017 10:29

She has improved, she would spend her time under the table spitting and not wearing shoes, but since contact reduced she enjoys school and plays well with friends, loves her teachers.
She is very advanced in reading and was in writing but she's gone on strike in that respect. I often have to deliver her in her pyjamas but it is an understanding school. She has meltdowns but they have a calm down room and she had been improving. She saves it all for meSad

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PoppyStellar · 28/08/2017 21:38

I have an adopted DD who was going through similar patterns of behaviour. Flowers for you because it is utterly exhausting and emotionally draining.

I would guess / suggest that a lot (possibly all) this behaviour stems from insecure attachment and not feeling secure and lashing out as a way to be in control. My DD had similar stress relating to the contact visits she had with birth parents which she had to do whilst in foster care.

I'm by no means an expert but the following have worked / helped for me and DD:

Really structured days which we talk about the day or night before. Eg lots of repeating 'so tomorrow we are doing x y z' even if XYZ is only washing up, going to the postbox, watching a DVD. The constant repetition and reminding helps them to feel grounded and secure in the moment.

At a parenting course I did recently which focuses on parenting children who've experienced trauma they talked a lot about the 'I wonder' technique (not its official name just how I remember it!). Basically, it's about retuning our brains as parents from wanting to resolve a situation straightaway 'no you can't have that, why not? because i said so etc' which as we know just seems to escalate the rage, to stating out loud that you can see that they're angry, frustrated etc and then wondering out loud why that might be. Eg. I can see you feel frustrated that ive said you can't do XYZ, that must be really hard for you. I wonder why that's made you feel so cross. It is totally counter intuitive to the general parenting advice which is that they should do what you've said without arguing etc and it felt to me in the early stages of doing it that I was almost pandering to her bad behaviour and I really struggled, but stick with it and it does work. It helps them to feel that you understand and will be there for them even when they are being utterly grotty and it helps them to name the feelings they are having.

Ignore the standard reward chart, stickers etc advice if she is completely disregulated when she is having these meltdowns. Use 'time in' rather than 'time out' as sending them away to calm down reinforces feelings of shame and inadequacy. Try things like ice or toast to crunch on when she's in a meltdown. Apparently doing something sensory can help them to calm down when they're really disregulated. DD loves ice and although she would refuse it from me initially mid meltdown (sometimes throwing it across the floor in a rage) she would usually eventually go to it and it would help.

It's really hard to stay calm when they are constantly letting it out with you and nobody else. You need to look after yourself which is way easier said than done, but any time you can have away and do something you enjoy to recharge you emotionally is really beneficial (really hard as a single parent I know).

I also used to have major major issues at bedtime. Doing some quiet breathing with DD courtesy of an app called calm has also really helped (I was very sceptical but so desperate I would have tried anything!) also there's a good book of meditations for kids called relax kids by marneta viegas which we read one of each night and this also has been a godsend.

There's loads of stuff on attachment if you google but read most of it knowing it's worst case scenarios. Your DD can recover from early trauma and it won't always be like this (even if it feels like it now)

A couple of book recommendations: volcano in my tummy is supposed to be really good, and I have found the Todd Parr 'feelings book' really helpful to use with DD. It's irreverent in parts and lighthearted but it's funny and appeals to kids.

brillopants · 28/08/2017 23:42

Thankyou thankyou thankyou poppy. I'm going to print out your response !
I have felt so alone.
Funnily enough we have the Todd parr books too. Anything on emotions and learning about emotional intelligence I pounce on.
And spot on about the sensory stuff- I got dd some chew teethers to try and stop her biting herself and it has been positive.

I will research parenting courses. I need to feel I can be proactive.

My instincts have been to hold the space for her when she melts down, hard when she hits me but I try to model calm and give her permission to get upset, empathise but hold the boundary( she was getting more and more into OCD type behaviour and I had to draw the line and try and desensitise her, both to the anxiety response, and the inflexibility to no).
But the last few times I've just lost it.

Lately I've been tired of it, we went on holiday with a bunch of people and it completely regressed her, she totally escalated , I assume because of the loss of structure,and I felt like she was always going to be like this, and some of the others who weren't very understanding hinted she may be on the spectrum .

You are right about looking after yourself, I was on burnout.

Thankyou again, I really means so much. X

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PoppyStellar · 29/08/2017 03:19

You're very welcome. I can totally recognise and empathise with the burnt out feeling - and it's especially frustrating when other people just don't 'get it' and make you feel as if it is somehow a failing on your part.

I had another couple of thoughts about potentially helpful things. One is a book called 'first steps in parenting the child who hurts' by Caroline Archer. Whilst it is aimed at children who've been in care / been adopted it does give some good advice about dealing with behaviour that is a result (or likely to be a result) of early trauma - in your DD's case the trauma of forced contact with dad. It's written in a fairly easy colloquial style and you can dip in to it.

The other thing is to look up parenting with PACE - again a big thing in adoption. Dan Hughes is the man behind it. PACE stands for playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy. The idea behind it is to approach interactions with your child from a PACE perspective. Real life does get in the way (!) but it's one to google / read about / try when you're feeling less frazzled.

Final thing - a few years ago I did a good parenting course called the incredible years which was free and run at our local children's centre. I'd recommend it if there's one near you, but with the caveat that it's aimed at 'typical' children and not everything they suggest may be suitable for your DD.

Sorry, I've just remembered something else. The fact that she reserves her meltdowns for you is apparently a good sign (even though it definitely doesn't feel like it!) It is a sign that she is secure enough with you despite her general feelings of insecurity (which we think might be at the root of the behaviour) to let go. In the long term this will be healthy for her as on a deep subconscious level she trusts you to keep her safe even if currently she doesn't always feel like that if that makes sense?

Hang in there, it's really tough when they are like this but it will get better

brillopants · 29/08/2017 15:41

Thanks so much poppy.
We've had a good day today, I've felt more patient and remembered to go back to keeping it simple . One small meltdown and one broken picture frame glass, no biggie, and lots of walks and exercise in the woods. And cuddles.

Shame, I think, drove me to feeling so awful. Having our life reflected through the lens of other, unsympathetic families.

I will definitely be waging war on shame. I have a job to do and it has no place here. We won't be like other families, and that's ok.
X

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PoppyStellar · 29/08/2017 16:26

Im really glad you've had a good day today and I love your positive attitude - might nick your phrase about waging war on shame, I like that!

Ellieboolou27 · 29/08/2017 23:06

Totally agree with Poppy's advise, especially the "time in"

My 5 yo dd was / still can be like this and it almost broke me.
I found an amazing website called Ah-Ha parenting, it's based on attachment parenting (which until I learn and applied it thought was a load of tosh).

my dd had screaming meltdowns and I mean they were epic, i used to send her away to calm down, this is the opposite of what the website would suggest.

I'm still learning but the site helped me so much and even dd's teacher commented on how dd was learning to deal and control her emotions.

Also a book called playful parenting I'd wholeheartedly recommend, I've read many many books on behaviour and how to tackle it, this books different, it's all about creating security and bonding through play, very good for kids who have difficulties expressing themselves and improving confidence, as well as building a connection and feeling safe.

Good luck op.

corythatwas · 30/08/2017 15:51

another one with a dd with similar behaviour, also trauma-related (though nothing as bad as what you and your dd seem to have gone through)

now a young adult and on medication for anxiety, but a very lovely person who copes well around other people and is about to start a demanding HE programme

lots of good advice on this thread

the whole idea of war on shame is brilliant- but I suspect it's a stage we all have to pass through

in my case, it has helped, in a weird sort of way, that dd is also physically disabled: I gradually came to see that being ashamed of her mental condition would be just as silly as being ashamed of her physical condition; but will admit that it took me a few years

brillopants · 30/08/2017 16:05

Thankyou ellie and cory.

Although it can be hell, it's good to hear others are navigating through this too.

She has been great today, I definitely think the holiday led to the disregulation. Thankyou so much for all your advice.

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