are girls aged 7-8 yrs generally a bit stroppy?

[glamourmama]

Or is it just mine??? She is in year 3 and nearly 8. A lot of the time she is the same polite, happy thoughtful girl she has always been, but she has another stroppy side too. She is almost teenage like, rolling eyes, answering back, stomping off and saying "fine then!" Its always when she is asked to do something she doesn't want to do or I pull her up on something she shouldn't have done. She also answers back and most difficult to deal with is she just won't let it drop! She will go on and on and on about the thing we are discussing/arguing about. She won't move on from it, teacher say she is the same at school and really holds a grudge. She takes things very personally. Its getting to the point where I dread telling her off or asking her to do things because it will turn into such a long drawn out episode and my patience is wearing a bit thin! Any advice from people who have experienced similar?

I feel sorry for her because I think at school she is alienating herself from the others because she won't go join back in.

How can I encourage her to get over things and move on?

For the question you pose, I found these books to be quite helpful:

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk

and

How to talk so kids can learn

both by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. The first book in particular changed the way I address the DCs, and made it much easier to give them corrections and get them to do stuff that I thought was important but they didn't want to do. The second book was more useful as they got older.

Mine is ok at school but stroppy at home. They start getting an hormonal cycle at this age.

No, definately not just yours, I have one the same or similar who is now 10. She has been ' a free spirit' as a friend once decribed her since she was a toddler, running off and never walking by my side and always wanting to do her own thing. She always has an answer for everything and would debate over the colour of fresh air - end result - worn out parent.

I think we have to accept that it's their peronality, but on the other hand if they get too stroppy they have to learn it's not on to speak to you like that. I think the phrase is 'nip it in the bud'. By that I mean that you can become so used to the way they talk to you that you react as if is the norm and it shouldn't be, it should be a case of 'hang on missy, don't speak to me/whoever like that' and pull her up sharp and quick.

Actually I've just had a stroppy episode at the tea-table, DH still wasn't home which didn't help and she had a big strop about the fact her brother had buttered himself some bread and she didn't have a slice, so ended up saying 'well if you stop yelling and ask me politely I will certainly get you some bread. It's that simple. Hard work I know, hang in there.