Help end medical misogyny. Sign our petition.

Help end medical misogyny.
Sign our petition.

Sign the petition

Please or to access all these features

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Completely failing to manage my 5 year old's attitude

66 replies

Justtheabsoluteworstmum · 04/07/2026 09:48

Yesterday I took my 5 year old and 7 year old to the park after school. For background, the 5 year old is developing a real attitude problem and I'm trying to get her to be more respectful. She frequently tells me "you don't get to tell me what to do".

Anyway, after playing for a while, she came over for a snack. She had seen in my bag that there were Pom Bears and an apple. She is not very good with eating fruit, but will sometimes eat an apple. She came over asking for a snack, so I took out the apple. She said "I'm not having that, give me the pom bears". I said "that's very rude, where are your manners? You can have the pom bears once you've eaten the apple".

Well, that's when it all kicked off. She SCREAMED at me to give her the crisps NOW, you don't tell me what to do, etc etc. She started going through my bag trying to get the crisps, to the point that I had to hold the bag above my head. She was pulling at my clothes and screaming. In the end I said that due to her behaviour, we'd have to go home. She screamed even more. I had to drag her home, with my 7 year old walking begrudgingly beside us, which I feel bad about because he'd done nothing wrong.

I got home and cried. All that over a packet of crisps, really? I'm sure everyone there thought "bloody hell just give her the crisps". But I am trying so hard to set boundaries!

This morning I've noticed a bruise on her arm from me dragging her home. I feel like the worst parent in the entire world, like I don't deserve to have these children if I can't look after them properly.

What could I have done differently in this situation? It just got so out of control, and it makes me not want to go anywhere with her by myself again. Yes, in this instance, I shouldn't have taken both crisps and an apple, just the apple. But next time it will be something else. I'm just so sad.

For context, I don't think my daughter has any neurodivergence or additional needs. She's just become extremely rude and defiant, and I'm struggling to manage it. She is always very remorseful afterwards.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Jellycatspyjamas · 04/07/2026 13:14

AlreadyBetty · 04/07/2026 12:28

@Sherararara the problem is many small kids DO act up like this nowadays and at school discipline is often very weak or non existent so it entirely falls to parents to try and get kids to behave outside school.

OP you have to hold firm, you were completely right - I have a special “very annoyed” face for when my ds speaks to me without manners and I do tear a strip off him and if I do not get an immediate and very sincere sounding apology then I will take him straight home or if that is infeasible I make him sit out for five minutes to reflect (this normally makes him really angry and I just ride out the storm!)

It’s entirely the parents job to teach h their kids to behave nicely - in school and out of school.

BertieBotts · 04/07/2026 13:50

When you have a persistent issue which isn't going away just by reacting to it in the moment, it usually helps to have a bit more of a structured plan to target a replacement behaviour.

So to do that you want to sit down and identify the actual issue, be specific.

In the OP I can see several different things.
"You don't get to tell me what to do!" --> defiance, so you could target compliance aka yes, I do get to tell you what to do/she needs to defer to you and accept your decisions.

"I'm not having that, give me the pom bears". I said "that's very rude, where are your manners? You can have the pom bears once you've eaten the apple".

This is IMO three different things. First of all you have not accepting your decision, which is probably defiance/compliance related again.
Then you have the rude language/demands - you might want to target how to ask politely.
Lastly a possible third thing in that you would prefer her to eat a healthy snack (fruit) before more junky food (crisps). I don't know if that was your aim or the apple was a random choice but you wanted her to follow it because you said so.

Then, she escalated after you'd said no, which is a completely separate issue and the thing you'd want to target would be emotional regulation.

Often IME it helps to separate out the issues, because then you know what you're targeting, rather than you getting increasingly narked as she crosses every boundary at once but she never gets a clear message about what exactly it is you're objecting to. So the four identified in the post are these:

Defiance > Compliance (Following your instructions, accepting your word, not trying to argue/negotiate). To target this you'd basically up the praise every time she DOES do something you've asked her to do the first time, and try to initiate opportunities for this by giving lots of instructions for easy/fun things. However it also means that you need some kind of predictable, token/small repeatable consequence if she is not doing or accepting what you've said - 123 Magic can be good for this. DO NOT escalate yourself or do things like dance around holding the bag out of her reach. Just shut down the interaction and go home if necessary (without dragging - she won't stay behind on her own.) This whole thing relies on you not losing it yourself, which is really tricky to do when DC behave this way.

Demanding > asking nicely (Using words like please, questions, nicer tone of voice etc). To target this, it would be helpful to give her a second chance to request something, perhaps modelling the way you would like her to ask first, and if she does it more nicely, give her what she is requesting almost unconditionally, at least as a first step. You can also practice this and help her see what it means to ask nicely, by playing a game (like a role play shop/café for example) where you pretend to be e.g. Mr. Rude and Little Miss Polite and using a very over the top charicature of how to ask for things rudely/politely. This is very fun for a 5yo, and it gives her chance to practice using both the rude version AND the polite version and see the effect it has on people (you can make it more interesting by having each person role play different characters to respond e.g. Mr. Sad who bursts into tears, Little Miss Irritable who snaps in response etc) - plus, this gives you a shorthand to use in the moment so you can make a joke like "I'm sorry? I thought I heard Mr. Rude just then?"

Sometimes with rudeness if this is not enough to have an effect, you can break it down and address different aspects separately. So for example, first target using "please" even though the effect of barking "I don't want that. I want the other PLEASE!!" is hardly less rude. Then go for "Please can I have X instead?" Then go for tone or volume, and lastly the opposite. (Bearing in mind younger children cannot always reliably monitor their own volume).

Junk food > Healthy first - I suspect this is not your main issue. In which case, when an interaction becomes a situation where you can either press for healthy over junk OR press for a more polite request or compliance, it makes sense to prioritise your main issue for now. Once that is more stable and accepted, you could choose to work on the diet issue.

Emotional dysregulation > Emotional regulation - this is a bit more of a complicated skill. But you could look specifically for resources about this if it's the one thing you want to prioritise.

Also for whichever issue you choose it's important to talk to DC about it and explain why it is important and why you will be focusing on it with any rewards/consequence you decide to add to it if you do. It tends to be easiest and most effective to work on 1-2 things at a time rather than 4+

This is excellent and where I got most of the ideas here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9mgdi4rNeyEGNxBvNdOVlianDYgWuc9

Before you continue to YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9mgdi4rNeyEGNxBvNdOVlianDYgWuc9

user1496146479 · 04/07/2026 13:54

LOCOJDS · 04/07/2026 10:16

I feel it was a bit mean of you to make her have an apple when obviously she would want the pom bears. I wouldn't have had a battle over it when you had pom bears as a snack anyway. It's like she knew there was a choice but she didn't get one. You're forcing her to eat an apple when she really doesn't want one. Pick your battles.

First post nails it….. but in reverse!! Any wonder children have boundaries or respect!!! It’s not about the snack, it’s about doing what they are told by their parent… child is five!!

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

takealettermsjones · 04/07/2026 14:04

BertieBotts · 04/07/2026 13:50

When you have a persistent issue which isn't going away just by reacting to it in the moment, it usually helps to have a bit more of a structured plan to target a replacement behaviour.

So to do that you want to sit down and identify the actual issue, be specific.

In the OP I can see several different things.
"You don't get to tell me what to do!" --> defiance, so you could target compliance aka yes, I do get to tell you what to do/she needs to defer to you and accept your decisions.

"I'm not having that, give me the pom bears". I said "that's very rude, where are your manners? You can have the pom bears once you've eaten the apple".

This is IMO three different things. First of all you have not accepting your decision, which is probably defiance/compliance related again.
Then you have the rude language/demands - you might want to target how to ask politely.
Lastly a possible third thing in that you would prefer her to eat a healthy snack (fruit) before more junky food (crisps). I don't know if that was your aim or the apple was a random choice but you wanted her to follow it because you said so.

Then, she escalated after you'd said no, which is a completely separate issue and the thing you'd want to target would be emotional regulation.

Often IME it helps to separate out the issues, because then you know what you're targeting, rather than you getting increasingly narked as she crosses every boundary at once but she never gets a clear message about what exactly it is you're objecting to. So the four identified in the post are these:

Defiance > Compliance (Following your instructions, accepting your word, not trying to argue/negotiate). To target this you'd basically up the praise every time she DOES do something you've asked her to do the first time, and try to initiate opportunities for this by giving lots of instructions for easy/fun things. However it also means that you need some kind of predictable, token/small repeatable consequence if she is not doing or accepting what you've said - 123 Magic can be good for this. DO NOT escalate yourself or do things like dance around holding the bag out of her reach. Just shut down the interaction and go home if necessary (without dragging - she won't stay behind on her own.) This whole thing relies on you not losing it yourself, which is really tricky to do when DC behave this way.

Demanding > asking nicely (Using words like please, questions, nicer tone of voice etc). To target this, it would be helpful to give her a second chance to request something, perhaps modelling the way you would like her to ask first, and if she does it more nicely, give her what she is requesting almost unconditionally, at least as a first step. You can also practice this and help her see what it means to ask nicely, by playing a game (like a role play shop/café for example) where you pretend to be e.g. Mr. Rude and Little Miss Polite and using a very over the top charicature of how to ask for things rudely/politely. This is very fun for a 5yo, and it gives her chance to practice using both the rude version AND the polite version and see the effect it has on people (you can make it more interesting by having each person role play different characters to respond e.g. Mr. Sad who bursts into tears, Little Miss Irritable who snaps in response etc) - plus, this gives you a shorthand to use in the moment so you can make a joke like "I'm sorry? I thought I heard Mr. Rude just then?"

Sometimes with rudeness if this is not enough to have an effect, you can break it down and address different aspects separately. So for example, first target using "please" even though the effect of barking "I don't want that. I want the other PLEASE!!" is hardly less rude. Then go for "Please can I have X instead?" Then go for tone or volume, and lastly the opposite. (Bearing in mind younger children cannot always reliably monitor their own volume).

Junk food > Healthy first - I suspect this is not your main issue. In which case, when an interaction becomes a situation where you can either press for healthy over junk OR press for a more polite request or compliance, it makes sense to prioritise your main issue for now. Once that is more stable and accepted, you could choose to work on the diet issue.

Emotional dysregulation > Emotional regulation - this is a bit more of a complicated skill. But you could look specifically for resources about this if it's the one thing you want to prioritise.

Also for whichever issue you choose it's important to talk to DC about it and explain why it is important and why you will be focusing on it with any rewards/consequence you decide to add to it if you do. It tends to be easiest and most effective to work on 1-2 things at a time rather than 4+

This is excellent and where I got most of the ideas here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9mgdi4rNeyEGNxBvNdOVlianDYgWuc9

Great post 👏

EasilyRemedied · 04/07/2026 16:53

@Justtheabsoluteworstmum You absolutely did the right thing.
All I would say is, any time there is any rudeness AT ALL, make sure there is a consequence. At 5, neither of mine would have dared to speak to an adult(or another child—within my hearing) like this. We had firm boundaries in place as soon as they were conversing and did not budge on them, no matter the circumstances.
If you want to ’Pick your battles’ as pp have suggested, go for it, entirely your choice, but it means you’ll be battling a lot longer. Possibly for years.
Have clear boundaries, stick to them no matter what, and your daughter will very quickly learn what behaviour is acceptable.

Sherararara · 04/07/2026 18:59

EasilyRemedied · 04/07/2026 16:53

@Justtheabsoluteworstmum You absolutely did the right thing.
All I would say is, any time there is any rudeness AT ALL, make sure there is a consequence. At 5, neither of mine would have dared to speak to an adult(or another child—within my hearing) like this. We had firm boundaries in place as soon as they were conversing and did not budge on them, no matter the circumstances.
If you want to ’Pick your battles’ as pp have suggested, go for it, entirely your choice, but it means you’ll be battling a lot longer. Possibly for years.
Have clear boundaries, stick to them no matter what, and your daughter will very quickly learn what behaviour is acceptable.

This.

Pearlstillsinging · 04/07/2026 19:05

kaylot · 04/07/2026 11:08

She only became rude when you gave her the apple instead of the crisps. I dont understand why you didnt let her choose her snack. If the crisps werent an option then they shouldnt have been in sight to begin with.
Unless you were giving her the apple as your general feelings towards her have changed due to previous behaviour in which case you purposely antagonised her.
She could be exhausted and she could be influenced by her friend but neither of these are likely to change a well behaved child into a brat.
Definitely think ahead and pick your battles because that bag of crisps was not worth such drama

This!
You set her up to fail!
Please set her up.to succeed. Yes, of course you must set consistent boundaries but there is no need to be mean about it. If you don't want her to have crisps, don't put them.in your bag. If you have taken 2 things, why not ask which she prefers?

EasilyRemedied · 04/07/2026 19:11

Pearlstillsinging · 04/07/2026 19:05

This!
You set her up to fail!
Please set her up.to succeed. Yes, of course you must set consistent boundaries but there is no need to be mean about it. If you don't want her to have crisps, don't put them.in your bag. If you have taken 2 things, why not ask which she prefers?

It’s the rudeness that’s the issue, not the crisps. And if a kid can’t accept ‘No’ at five years old at the sight of a packet of Pom bears, your gonna have a lot of trouble when your out shopping/living a normal life.

Hadalifeonce · 04/07/2026 19:14

TigTails · 04/07/2026 10:33

I know how I would handle it, but it’s not very trendy.

With you on that.

kaylot · 04/07/2026 19:34

Penguinese · 04/07/2026 11:35

This sounds like “just give her what she wants to avoid drama”. It’s up to her mother if she wants her to eat the apple first. We have the same rule in our house. If there are fruit and veg snacks and more treat type snacks we eat the healthy options first.

Then dont let her see the crisps if you know that is what she is going to want. Mother of 5 so im not totally inexperienced.

kaylot · 04/07/2026 19:38

Penguinese · 04/07/2026 11:35

This sounds like “just give her what she wants to avoid drama”. It’s up to her mother if she wants her to eat the apple first. We have the same rule in our house. If there are fruit and veg snacks and more treat type snacks we eat the healthy options first.

Not at all, its about not creating a situation that will kickstart the drama

EasilyRemedied · 04/07/2026 19:39

kaylot · 04/07/2026 19:38

Not at all, its about not creating a situation that will kickstart the drama

I can see we’ll never agree on this. But I hope you have a lovely evening, regardless x

kaylot · 04/07/2026 19:40

Penguinese · 04/07/2026 11:35

This sounds like “just give her what she wants to avoid drama”. It’s up to her mother if she wants her to eat the apple first. We have the same rule in our house. If there are fruit and veg snacks and more treat type snacks we eat the healthy options first.

And your kids know that that is your rule. This child obbiously expected to have the crisps as she doesnt have that rule

Penguinese · 04/07/2026 19:43

kaylot · 04/07/2026 19:34

Then dont let her see the crisps if you know that is what she is going to want. Mother of 5 so im not totally inexperienced.

Me? I don’t hide any food from my child. I just say “the crisps are there if you want them after your fruit/veg”

He doesn’t get them until after. He doesn’t have to eat the fruit or veg if he doesn’t want, that’s his choice. But the crisps aren’t an option while healthier things are there so that never happens because he’s hungry. These are also things that don’t keep like processed food does. We eat up our fruit and veg for health reasons as well as money saving and not wasting food. I always pack fruit and veg snacks so they are always eaten first.

It’s not difficult to navigate. My child would never demand something from me as that thing would then instantly be off the menu for being cheeky and ungrateful.

Penguinese · 04/07/2026 19:45

kaylot · 04/07/2026 19:40

And your kids know that that is your rule. This child obbiously expected to have the crisps as she doesnt have that rule

Right… that’s the point. The OP needs to be firmer with boundaries.

Penguinese · 04/07/2026 19:46

kaylot · 04/07/2026 19:38

Not at all, its about not creating a situation that will kickstart the drama

Ok… I’d rather raise robust children, not demanding little toerags.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page