DS MAKES ME FEEL LIKE SUCH A CRAP PARENT

[Mumlikeu]

I FEEL LIKE SCREAMING. ITS SO DRAINING. HE IS NEVER HAPPY OR SATISFIED. I FEEL LIKE HE CONSTANTLY WANTS ME. AND WHEN I WANT SOME ME TIME HE DETESTS ME FOR IT. HE CANNOT PLAY ALONE... EVER. UNLESS HE HAS A PLAY DATE OR SOMEONE IS WITH HIM, WATCHING HIM ETC. AND BEIEVE NOT MEANING TO SOUND HORRID ITS TIME CONSUMING AND I DONT LIKE IT. I ENJOY HIM I LOVE HIM AND LOVE BEING WITH HIM WHEN HE IS CONSTANTLY BEGGING FOR ATTENTION. HE CANNOT SLEEP AT NIGHT UNLESS HE IS WITH YOU. HE CAN OPEN TOYS R US WITH THE AMOUNT OLF TOYS HE HAS. HE HAS ACTIVITIES EVERYDAY BESIDES THURS AND HIS WEEKENDS ARE PACKED SO ITS NOT LIKE HE DOESNT HAVE A SOCIAL LIFE. I AM CONSTANTLY THINKING OF WHAT TO DO NEXT BUT I JUST FEEL LIKE CRYING RIGHT NOW... COS IM FED UP WITH HIS UNGRATEFUL ATTITUDE. HE IS ONYL 6 BLESS HIM BUT ITS LIKE HE ACTS LIKE HE IS BEING PUNISHED, BUT I JUST CANNOT POSSIBLY PLAY WITH HIM ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL THE TIME. INFACT I DONT WANT TO. AS I FIND HIM BORING(I KNOW HORRIBLE) BUT HE IS. HE IS JUST SO DULL, AND YET HE IS THE SCHOOL STAR AND LIGHTS UP THE ROOM WHEN THERES A CROWD. HELP ADVICE, COS I LOVE HIM SO MUCH IT HURTS ME THAT HE IS LIKE THIS. AND IM SURE IT HURTS HIM.

APOLOGIES FOR RAMBLING BUT NEEDED TO LET OFF STEAM.HE IS GENERALLY A GOOD KID, OVER AFFECTION WHICH IM USED TO. BUT JUST NEEDS TO LEARN TO PLAY ALONE FOR LONGER THAN 10MINS. ITS DRAINING!!!!!

I have a child a bit like this. TBH i think it is good that they can be 'nasty' to you, not 'perform' for you etc, as an earlier poster said I think to some extent it indicates some security. I do worry along the same lines though, my life is busy and I wonder if he really has enough time with me - I think you are doing better than me in that department.

TBH I have always struggled to play on ds time. Structure helps me, as does being outside. The bike riding is an excellent idea, stick with it - I truly can say that I love cycling with ds. Also I love games - we really enjoy Pairs (memory game), Kim's Game (tray of items and they have to guess which one has gone - it's especially good when they do it for you!), Hide and seek (set the number of turns beforehand otherwise you can get the Oh God this is going on for ever feeling), Uno (the BEST), snakes and ladders (try making your own board with detachable snakes and ladders, then you can always remove a few snakes if it's unbearably long), and we're just trying chess now which is quite good. Oh, also Heads Bodies and Legs, guess the tune from a tapped rhythm, all that stuff. Probably things you do anyway. The point is, if you have very different interests, try pointing him towards something you actually enjoy, and then you can enjoy it together. What would you actually choose to do? Could you start reading aloud some more grown-up books? Anything at all to feel there are at least some things you can genuinely look forward to.

this all sounds a bit smug on my part. TBH a few weeks ago I was wondering if ds would be happier living with another family, I felt I was doing so badly. It is always a work in progress. I think it will get easier as and when he can read.