Did you notice a change when they started school?

[Nabootique]

DD started school in September. She knows some of the other children from her nursery, where she did 3 hours a day. She now does full time school days. Suddenly she is acting really rather spoilt, whiny, wants everything the same as her friends, but also says no one likes her and is displaying attention seeking behaviour at home. Did this kind of thing happen with any of your DCs? I was expecting this kind of thing at 12, not 4!

Yes. It's complete exhaustion tiredness. Or was, in our case.

This term is a whirlwind for them - learning about being at school, but also all of the Christmas activities. It really takes it out of them, just as the weather turns and all of the winter bugs hit.

Plus, emotional upheaval from the effort of making friends - IME this seems worse in girls.

Also IME things clicked into place better from around the middle of February. Hosting lots of play dates helped with that for us.

We're a few years down the line now, and she is still a whiny tired mess at this time of year, but it is getting better each year.

And the attention-seeking, I put that down to having to compete with 29 other children for the teacher's attention. My DD thrives on praise, but came home every day complaining that the teacher didn't let her help with xyz today, she couldn't understand why she wasn't the star every day. Which was a shock after being one of eight in a group at pre-school, where she and her friend were the helpers most days.

Don't get me wrong, we don't spoil her at home or make out like she is the princess, but after perceiving they are being "ignored" by the teacher all day (which of course is nonsense but a handful of children will probably absorb a large chunk of the teacher's time due to behavioural issues etc) it doesn't hurt to give them a cuddle and some dedicated time, away from siblings if possible.

Thank you. It really helps to read that. DD is only child, so that might compound the competing with other children even further!

Yep same in our house! DS is also in reception and I have noticed that his behaviour at home has gotten progressively worse recently. We have tantrums, back chat, he feels he is entitled to anything and if he doesn't get it goes from happy to angry in a millisecond. I am hoping that the christmas break will help to calm him down again. I have had to deal with his behaviour practically singlehandedly as DH has been working a lot.