Whiney 5 year old. Not sure how to handle?

[IHopeThisFindsYouWell]

I am ashamed to say that I find my 5 year old really, really hard work at the moment and it's really getting me (all of us) down.

She is very highly strung and sensitive, and very very whiney. She will whine and cry and strop a LOT. It's really hard to deal with.

She's the middle of 3 and doesn't get as much attention as she possibly wants, but I really try my best to carve out time and special moments for her. She started school a month ago which is making everything harder as she struggles hugely with change.

The level of moaning and whining and crying about everything has really ramped up. I try active listening and gentle techniques but quite often end up snapping as my last nerve is shredded.

Has anyone had a DC with a similar temperament? How do you deal with it? I'm so sad but I don't enjoy parenting her much and I know that if she's picking up on that it will be driving the negative cycle. My other 2 DC are so easy going in comparison.

If she's whiney asking for things try saying 'Now ask me in a sensible voice' and I'll think about it.

One thing comes to mind though. I once had a child in my Nursery class like this, he would break down weeping at the least thing - hanging his coat up for instance. Then his Mum took him to the doctor as he always seemed tired and he turned out to be diabetic. Once his meds were sorted out he was a different child. I'm not saying this is the case, in fact it's fairly unlikely, but maybe a visit to the GP or Practice Nurse for blood tests. She won't be able to articulate about not feeling well if that has always been her experience.

Yes, my DD is an only and is still very much the same. I am slowly training her to the idea that mummy only replies to requests that are phrased politely and that moaning and whinging. It takes a long time and a lot of patience. And we are still working on it at 7.

I often find myself taking a step back and deep breath. She can be delightful and hopefully the moans will disappear eventually.

And I try to make a joke out of some of it. At the moment my name seems to be ‘But Mummy’.

Pretend you can't hear the whiney voice. Tell her that you won't be responding to anything asked for that way.