What happened to the lovely five year old I had until quite recently? It isn't long ago that I was waxing lyrical about how fabulous it was at this age, how much easier was now she was past the toddler stage and in school, and about how much I was enjoying it, and how I felt this was the 'golden stage' of parenting. Ha! Famous last words!
In the past couple of months I've had inordinate amounts of attitude and backchat from her.
She challenges everything I say. She slams doors. She throws hissy fits. She imitates me just to be annoying. She wants to take long baths constantly. She wants to stay up late and watch Australian Idol. She is grumpy if she can't be with her friends after school. If she hurts herself it is my fault "because you didn't tell me it was dangerous". Her emotions are up and down, loving one minute and obnoxious the next, and then dissolving into a flood of tears and wanting to be alone. When she is told to go to time-out she stares at me and says "No, and you can't make me."
My gawd. My six year old has mutated into a teenager.
I've been doing some research on the net and it seems this is very common in six year olds, especially girls, as they apparently experience a hormone surge at this age. Apparently it tends to settle down around the age of seven, so my fingers are crossed.
In the meantime I'm doing a lot of deep breathing, trying not to get too wound up, and reminding myself that it is still nowhere near as bad as when she was three. She is still lovely and cuddly sometimes, which does help.
Even so, I really hope this stage passes soon and I get my child back as I'm just not ready for a teenager yet.
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