Hi, my 4 year old is a lovely little girl in so many ways. She has made lots of friends at preschool and her keyworkers report she is social, kind and generally well behaved. However at home she can get very frustrated and can lash out at me and her dad - biting, shouting, hitting, pushing and biting or even spitting.
We always stop and correct the behaviour firmly. We’ve tried encouraging her to articulate her feelings, giving her other ways of expressing herself (encouraging her to run about, stamp her feet etc) and shown her ways to calm down (kid yoga, breathing exercises, a sensory area at home). We’ve also brought in consequences e.g. treats that are planned like films or puddings being taken away. And we use positive reinforcement like start charts and praise.
I feel really disheartened and self critical that this is still going on at her age and worried about what it means. I’ve contacted her health visitor in the past who seemed pretty relaxed and didn’t think she met the threshold for SEN needs but on and off I’ve wondered.
At one point it was pretty frequent. Now it’s much more occasional and circumstantial but her age is what really worries me as I feel like most children have grown out of this by now.
Anyone else been through this? Any advice?