Help - split personality DD!!!!

[mummynoseynora]

This might be a bit waffly but I will try to keep it concise.... DD (3.9) is actually driving me insane!!! She splits her mind between being the most helpful wonderful little girl in the world, and the devil.... the actual devil can you tell its been a bad day?!

I know most of her behaviour is just basically normal 3 year old boundary testing etc but I am at a loss as to how to handle it as she now actually ignores any discipline!

For example if she decides she doesn't want to do something, eg get dressed - she will just pretend she's doing it, and ignore me - so I go into her room, remind her say why etc and she ignores it some more....

I know I have been tired lately so my discipline hasn't been the most consistent, I have even threatened a smacked bottom - I don't even agree with smacking! but of course she ignored me so I had to follow it through (this wasn't about getting dressed, about pissing about at bedtime!) Didn't even make a difference!

I find myself shouting to get her attention when she ignores me, and that does jack all either so god knows why I keep trying it!

dc2 is nearly 9 months and very active now so I guess she's annoyed as he will be taking some attention away when I have to move him away from laptop wires etc

someone please reassure me that I am not losing the plot and don't deserve to be on jeremy kyle!!!!!

shameless bump!

anybody?

I guess I DO belong on jeremy kyle then!

Sympathy to you

I personally find 3yr olds the most challenging of all

Which is interesting, as my 4yr old is driving me bonkers atm

Am sure you're right about the jealousy thing

And you're right about the smacking - don't bother threatening it - so not effective and really not worth it. Will just make you both feel even shittier

thanks for the response notnowbernard! :)

yes it is .... fun.... isn't it! She's a very intelligent girl which has always been a bonus, was talking in sentences at 2 yrs etc... but not its to my downfall as she picks up on every bloody little thing! one moment of tiredness / weakness and she's running rings around me all day

just tell me it will get better when she starts school next year! (don't think thats helping either - loads of her friends started this year and she would have been ready too, except obviously far too young)

I do wonder if she is bored too and needing more stimulation?? she goes to preschool 4 days a week all morning (staying for lunch) we regularly get out for walks / park / zoo etc, but because of all the walking she does she is often tired of an afternoon so needs rest - but can't have a sleep or she won't sleep at night.....

dd2 has just started school and is knackered (I know the whole school thing is one of the reasons for her behaviour, still crap to deal with though!)

So we tend to come home and veg in front of the TV/DVD for an hour or so in the afternoons

Like yours, if she sleeps in the day she is a nightmare getting to sleep or bed at night

TV is good

yeah I tend to do that for a while after preschool - I wonder if I let her do it for too long though as she then seems hyper - literally like she has been drip fed e-numbers (and no she doesn't get that stuff often!)

this too shall pass.....sigh ...... where's my wine?!