I need to say, though, that she is not a normal 4 year old. Her parents were 14 when she was born and her mother kept her father out of her life until about 6 months ago when the court enforced his rights (after he turned 18 and filed for them at the end of '08) She has always been raised by an immature mother who was too busy partying to do much for the child. (I know this sounds judgemental, but the mother and I tried to be friends for a while and I couldn't stand what a partyer she was. Whenever we hung out she pawned her kid off on me so she could go drink) The child is allowed to watch Family Guy and MTV. She is never fed anything healthy and is overweight. She doesn't have rules with her mother and gets everything she wants.
Here in my home with my husband we have rules. This morning she had a huge meltdown over having oatmeal for breakfast. We only gave her a small bit and it had lots of brown sugar so that it wasn't such a shock changing from her Trix. We've tried to do things slowly and one at a time so that she isn't overwhelmed. This is the first time that we've made her eat anything other than pancakes or Trix for breakfast. (We focused on other meals)
After she FINALLY finished her oatmeal (3 hours later!!) we congratulated her on being such a good girl as she swallowed the last bite. Daddy immediately hugged her and told her how proud he was. We let her have her chocolate yogurt (she thinks its pudding) and let her put in her favorite movie. We sat down to watch it with her and our 7 month old daughter crawled over to where her sister was sitting on the floor. The baby adores her sister and you know how babies slap things when they get excited. The baby started slapping the 4 year old's doll house and then tried to crawl into the 4 year old's lap. Out of NOWHERE the 4 year old pushed the baby off her lap and yelled %26quot;thats it! I'm going to my room!%26quot; We were stunned. I had been in the bedroom when I heard this and I immediately went over to her room and told her she better get out there and apologize to her father for speaking to him that way. She went to the living room, but refused to apologize so Dad sent her to her room and said she was not to come out until she could behave better. She has been sleeping in there for about the last 2 hours...
What in the world?? Do your kids do things like that??? Normally she loves her little sister. She follows me around the house helping me change her diaper and get her dressed. She likes to feed her and cuddle her all the time. This is totally out of the ordinary and we are so lost...
Advice? We're really young parents and we need it!Is this normal for a 4 year old or is there something deeper?
No, my child didn't do that.
But my child was not born to teenage parents, shuttled from one house to another, used as a weapon, expected to turn on a dime when the rules changed from one house to another, etc. In other words, she had stability.
If you really believe this child's mother is so awful, go to court and sue for full custody.
All the best.Is this normal for a 4 year old or is there something deeper?
Maybe she was just over tiredIs this normal for a 4 year old or is there something deeper?
I think you are being a little hard on her. Being separated from her Mom for any period of time must be difficult for her. I agree that pushing the baby (I don't know how hard she did it) was unkind, but just saying %26quot;I'm going to my room!%26quot; isn't the worst thing I've ever heard. I think you're trying too hard to fit her into the mold of what you think a four-year-old should be. A child who doesn't want to eat her oatmeal can be kept at the table for a certain period of time, but it shouldn't be three hours. If she refuses to eat after 20, 30, or 60 minutes (no longer), she should be told she'll have to wait until lunch, not made to sit for two more hours. If she has to sit for 20 minutes staring at a healthy breakfast, and then wait till lunch if she doesn't eat, she will soon start eating what you serve most of the time. You could also try other healthful foods such as whole-grain pancakes, whole grain cold cereal, and fruit. (I don't mean make a new breakfast; I mean make something different next time.)
I appreciate that you're young, and this is difficult for you. In addition to the above, I would do my best to use humor and positivity to connect with the child. She needs positive influences.Is this normal for a 4 year old or is there something deeper?
Maybe she wasn't in the mood to entertain her little sister, that doesn't sound strange to me at all. She was probably tired and needed a nap.Is this normal for a 4 year old or is there something deeper?
Why did you erased my comment??????????You posted a question and I answered!!!!
