My DD has recently had her 4th birthday, which included a party with her friends, preceded by a holiday, pre school ending and the start of school is impending. All of this has meant there have been about 2 months solid of her receiving constant gifts, ice creams, sweets, special attention and also lots of new things that she actually needs to prepare/for school. She's also been looked after by grandparents a little more than usual and they bombard with 'treats' - think ice cream, magazine and lunch out all in one day....
I've always been pretty relaxed about buying new things on the grounds of wanting to nurture any interests she develops. I also try to be relaxed about the odd ice cream or cake as we eat really well as a family generally and she is not fussy about healthy food. But recently her attitude has become 'I want , I want' ALL the time. We always tell her that she needs to ask nicely and she does change her tone to ask for things politely but the meltdowns if we say 'no' or 'later' have become really epic. I'm talking up to an hour of shouting down the house, slamming doors etc. She is starting to presume that every day will contain lots of sweat treats and things from the shops and is disappointed if that is not the case. She is behaving like the stereotypical "spolit brat".
Can anyone offer any help on gradually transitioning away from this constant churn of treats? I'm wondering if I need to start being more vigilant generally given there will be a lot more kids parties and things generally coming up now as she gets older. I'm sure she'll also start asking for things/toys that other kids have now too. Do you have any clear boundaries around this kind of thing? Thanks!