Is this normal for a four and a half year old child ??

[mummyloveslucy]

Hi, I have a 4.5 year old daughter and recently, if she dosn't want to talk about something she say's "my fingers hurting."
She has never hurt her finger before so I'm not sure what's given her the idea. She uses it when she dosn't know the answer to something or when she wants to change the subject.
Does anyone elses child do this? and what should I say when she says it again?
Is it a phase that will pass?
I would love some advice, as it's quite annoying.

Hi, I think sometimes they find something to say that works once and then they use it over and over. Maybe her finger WAS hurting one time and it got her out of answering a question?

My DD (same age as yours) would tell me all last year that one of her teachers was sick. Every week. I decided that the teacher must have been sick once and because I'd accepted that as a valid reason, she thought she could use it again and again.

She did take it too far though, I once asked her how her gym class had been and she told me that the gym was sick!

oh we have this - DS is 4.3. I can't go to bed because my tummy aches, I can't do x because my legs aches, etc etc. I agree with hollyhobbie, I probably accepted the ache when in a normal context and now he tries to use it randomly to see when he could get away with it!
I tend to laugh at him as often the excuses are totally bizarre and out of context. Sometimes he laughs with me... no advice really but just to agree it's normal!

Aww, thank you. It's great to know it's normal and she's not compleatly insane. lol, she is a real charactor.

My ds (4.9)does this all the time, only with him it's always his leg which is hurting.

I usually say in a vague way 'oh, I'm sorry to hear about that' and carry on asking the question / doing what we were doing. If he uses it in a 'can't go to school because my leg is hurting' way I say 'oh dear, lets go in to school and ask Miss Teacher about it' and he's usually forget by the time we get there.

Ugh, stupid excuses, yes, am been there
DD1 told me today she couldn't pull her tights up as her legs had bruises on them

She also couldn't eat her meatballs as her plate was too red.
It's a red plate ffs! And she chose it!

lol, That's so funny JackBau.

So glad it's not just me going through this. Two weeks ago my DD was very independant. Now she "can't" walk on the floor (it's too cold), she "can't" do her teeth, or get dressed, or pick her toys up, or get into bed... I'm fed up of hearing "can't"!! Argghhhh!

She also deflects when I ask her something she doesn't really want to answer. She normally picks an injury from a few weeks ago and tells me it still hurts.