Hello all,
My eldest dd will be 6 in September, her sister is 3 and new brother is 2 weeks old. I think I may end up answering some of my own questions while writing this but I would REALLY appreciate some feedback/ideas.
She is a very smart, bright bulb and generally plays very well with her sis and loves to socialize with other children. Recently she has been getting very "sensitive" and cranky. She does not seem to accept any authority from any adult automatically except me, and even I have to really lay the law down and set strong boundaries with her so she doesn't overstep the mark with me. If she is with another adult who is kind but FIRM she will eventually accept their authority but any vagueness on the part of the adult and she will be disrespectful and not take them seriously. (My dh doesn't really take any responsibility for discipline/teaching moments.)
Towards the end of my pregnancy and since I had the baby I have had a sitter help me and she has the two girls for a few hours each day. They have a great relationship and my dd is generally cooperative because the sitter is good with boundaries (we discussed this at length when I first employed her).
My dd has recently had days though where she is whining and crying about everything, is defiant and generally quite a pain to be around. It doesn't help that her younger sister is easygoing and naturally charming (or maybe has quickly figured out an alternative way to get what she wants, as siblings do!).
I have given this some thought and I realize that my dd wants more time with me and she is doing whatever it takes to get it and right now that is with negative behavior. Just a small amount of time with me (when I'm not having to direct anything/anyone) goes a long way, although it's a major challenge to give ANYONE in the family one-on-one at present (except the baby as we co-sleep).
Has anyone else had this type of challenge with this age group and also when juggling new sibs?! I would love to hear from you...!
My eldest dd will be 6 in September, her sister is 3 and new brother is 2 weeks old. I think I may end up answering some of my own questions while writing this but I would REALLY appreciate some feedback/ideas.
She is a very smart, bright bulb and generally plays very well with her sis and loves to socialize with other children. Recently she has been getting very "sensitive" and cranky. She does not seem to accept any authority from any adult automatically except me, and even I have to really lay the law down and set strong boundaries with her so she doesn't overstep the mark with me. If she is with another adult who is kind but FIRM she will eventually accept their authority but any vagueness on the part of the adult and she will be disrespectful and not take them seriously. (My dh doesn't really take any responsibility for discipline/teaching moments.)
Towards the end of my pregnancy and since I had the baby I have had a sitter help me and she has the two girls for a few hours each day. They have a great relationship and my dd is generally cooperative because the sitter is good with boundaries (we discussed this at length when I first employed her).
My dd has recently had days though where she is whining and crying about everything, is defiant and generally quite a pain to be around. It doesn't help that her younger sister is easygoing and naturally charming (or maybe has quickly figured out an alternative way to get what she wants, as siblings do!).
I have given this some thought and I realize that my dd wants more time with me and she is doing whatever it takes to get it and right now that is with negative behavior. Just a small amount of time with me (when I'm not having to direct anything/anyone) goes a long way, although it's a major challenge to give ANYONE in the family one-on-one at present (except the baby as we co-sleep).
Has anyone else had this type of challenge with this age group and also when juggling new sibs?! I would love to hear from you...!
