Stroppy Sixes - Argh, I can't cope!

[Saffron]

Nevermind terrible 2s, or traumatic 3s... We now have the stroppy 6s with Little Saff.

Everything is a drama. There are screaming fit of tears at the drop of a hat.

Her teacher says she's one of the most popular children in class, but she comes home wailing that nobody plays with her?!

At home, 'Please' and 'Thank you' have apparently gone on permanent holiday, and there doesn't seem to be any indication when they'll return. Listening skills have fallen to an all time low. Do I have to wait until she's 16 to take up my statutory place in a sanitorium, or can I self-refer for early entry?

I asked Hubbie if we could take her to the recycling centre to trade her in for a different model, but he said due to cutbacks, they're no longer accepting kids.

Mothers of strong willed daughters, tell me it's going to be alright!

[Pickle]

It's going to be alright, probably about the time she leaves home...

Miss 8 was the same at 6, we've had a few glimpses of sweetness in the subsequent 2 years, but mainly stroppy drama queen antics. Friends with older girls seem to have similar, and we have big hormone surges at 9/10 to look forward to 😳

Makes me appreciate Miss 4.5 with her innocent sweetness, but fear the fact that I have it coming all over again!

[edanna]

My 6 year old daughter is a bit like Jekyll and Hyde - I haven't got much wisdom to impart unfortunately, just that I really try to anticipate things that might set off a major meltdown, eg before going to the cinema stating that she is allowed X and Y but definitely not one of those rubbish ?1 toys out of the machine, etc. Of course it's impossible to anticipate every trigger and so I still end up swearing to never go shopping/to the cinema etc with her for the next decade!

[Monkey]

I was about to write a similar post and then saw yours... Same story here. Our dd changed in the last week. Everything I ask her is met with a "no". Strictly no advice to offer, sorry.

[Hickory]

With one who's just turned 7, I promise it gets better!

[redjam]

My youngest is very 'strong-willed' (read: eccentric, stubborn, head in the clouds, given to sudden fury if frustrated). But funnily enough I was thinking the other day that there is far less drama in our house than there used to be these days. She is eight now. I'm not saying we never have meltdowns, but they are much fewer and far between and she is getting better at managing her emotions.

Some of it is down to me understanding her better (realising that too much noise or pressure freaks her out: if I shout at her she retreats into lockdown mode) and some of it is simply her growing up. Plus when we were going through a tricky phase I made a point of having a weekly one-to-one trip to a cafe with her where I just focused on having a nice chat with her (not nagging her or telling her off) and that made a really big difference - to both of us. And yes, thinking about it, she was six at the time!

Good luck - it will get better, I promise. Then it'll get worse again, no doubt. That's parenthood, ha ha...

[mybaby178]

With one also about to turn 7 I can promise you it does get better. My little girl is headstrong, stubborn and likes things her own way but in the last 6 months there has been a huge transformation, she has really matured has learnt to manage her emotions better and is so helpful at home now.

Homework is no longer a battle she now sits down beautifully and just gets on with it.