how can i deal with the behaviour of our 5 yo daughter?

Question

Since a few weeks she is like changed. she allways says no at first when something is told her to do . same problems with food she dont want to eat. i am a little bit confused because she was before a real sweatheart. is that the age? and how should we deal with thats? will some punishment help ? ore should we go over it ?

Answer 1

You should try time-outs as punishments (1 minute for every year of age). She might be acting rebellious because she's either (a) asserting her independence or (b) if she's just started school, she's acting like a "big girl." Also, try and get to know her friends; it may just be a bad influence. Lastly, see what she watches on t.v. Sometimes all kids are doing is imitating there favorite show.

Answer 2

She's testing the boundaries (and thats normal for a child that age. She needs to know when she acts a certain way, something she doesnt like happens. Warn her, if you do that again, you will go to a room/corner of your choice and you will sit there till mummy/daddy says so. Come back in 5 minutes and ask for a hug and apology tell ask her what they did wrong if she doesnt know or won't say , tell her mummy/daddy asked you to stop and you didnt, if she is missbehaving, leave for five more minutes, trust me, eventually she'll get the message. Keep consistant with it, every time! DO NOT AKNOWLEDGE HER WHILST SHE IS IN TIME OUT! Also make sure your not feeding her any artificial or very sugary foods, they will make her hyperactive and grumpy. With food don't give her any snacks. She won't starve, she'll eat her meals (at the table always, very important) when she gets hungry. Do NOT shout! Do not cry or get angry in front of her. Stay firm and calm. Reward her with LOTS of attention and praise when she does behave, even for small things. Ignore bad behavior and praise good is the most important thing as what children crave and often misbehave for is attention and if they cant get postitive, they'll make sure they get some negative. Best of luck xx

Answer 3

it is the age... our daughter was a perfect compliant angel until 4 1/2 yrs old. you dont want to look at punishment so much or ignoring it... what i did was acknowledge why she said no and tell her it wasnt a choice... they are trying to be independant... let her have some choices, but not too many. with the food issue though, i tended to be somewhat giving on it because hey, we all have some food we dont like... but tell her she has to take at least one bite before she says she doesnt want it and dont make anything special either... otherwise your child will start treating you like a short order cook. i found giving choices worked well for me...i would ask her if she wanted 3 carrots or 5 carrots... notice that no carrots was not an option... :) just politely stand your ground... like if you are giving her a new food give her a choice of how much of it to put on her plate and when she says she doesnt want it, just calmly say, that wasnt the choice, the choice was how much do you want, 3 or 5? and just stick by it... they get better... :) our daughter is 7 and our son is 2 so I know what you mean... :D

Answer 4

I raised 3 daughters now all grown. Each child goes through growing pains. "Where are my boundaries?" "Can I be in control?" "How far can I push this?" Every child goes through it. It starts as an infant in many ways, they call the terrible 2's, just that for a reason. NO! Why do they use this word so much? They hear their parents telling them NO! allot. They learn what they hear. At 5 they are going through dramatic changes. Getting ready to go to school, they go through phases of wanting to eat, not wanting to eat, as an adult you go through the same things. As far as appetite, unless she goes a long time without eating, I would not worry to much about it, however keep an eye on her just in case, there may be a physical problem. However, the NO!, pushing your buttons, that is all normal & you have to maintain who is the adult in charge & not allow her to become the adult by wearing you down. This is only one of many rebellous stages you will be enduring & in the end, you'll wake up & see she has a great carreer & is doing fine, all because you stuck in there & was the parent you should have been. Good luck. I made it, you can too. I did it with girls X's 3......

Answer 5

It's one of many phases she'll go through. Be firm but kind. If possible offer one or two choices so she feels she has some control. But when you need to insist stay firm. If she doesn't eat what is served say fine you will be hungry and she will. Don't give in! No child ever starved from missing one meal. I gave in on food and I am so sorry! I've been paying for it for years! They are 19 and 21 and still do not eat what I serve.

Answer 6

Has she started school? Maybe something or someone there is making her unhappy. Have a quiet time as a family, and all sit down, maybe as a fun picnic in the lounge or something, and start talking about what makes you happy and what makes you sad etc. Don.t necessarily bombard her with questions, just chat about those things between two adults and let her join in gradually. It should all come out if it is something specific that is bothering her.If this doesn.t work, just carry on as normal, reminding her that you are always there if she wants to talk about anything. Good luck!

Answer 7

I think it is pretty typical for kids to go through another "terrible" age, but you should still displine her when she disobeys. Time outs may be the best answer.

Answer 8

since this is new behavior, she knows what behavior is expected of her. ignore the negative behavior, and praise the positive.