Reply to How to parent hard child

Forum Index » Elementary School-Aged Kids

Reply to "How to parent hard child "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I haven't read beyond the first page, but OP, I want you to know that my daughter (middle of 3) was also incredibly difficult for the first 11-12 years of her life. She threw temper tantrums everywhere. At the museum, right by the doll house exhibit (just as a tour group is walking by, of course); at the grocery store (we'd be outside the store for 45 minutes in the freezing cold weather because she was throwing a temper tantrum, and moms would come up to me just to tell me "It gets better"); coming home from school (I would sit in the parking lot for 20-30 minutes before she agreed to put on her seat belt so that we could go home). EVERYWHERE. One time, she threw a temper tantrum because I asked her to put on shoes so that we could go to the store to get goody bag items for her upcoming birthday party. She regularly threw temper tantrums when we wanted to go to the park, after she was the one who asked to go! I would say yes, let's put on shoes, and BAM! another temper tantrum.

I would fantasize about adopting her out of the family and wondered who would take a 7-year-old. I was already looking into boarding schools for high schools because I couldn't take it (both my daughter and husband rejected that idea, so I didn't pursue it). I'm not proud of any of this, I'm just telling you how difficult it was for me.

Once my daughter turned 12ish, everything changed. She's now a 15-year-old and everything is SO EASY. All of the complaints people have about teenagers (and especially teenage daughters) do not apply to us. With years of therapy, she's learned to be easy going and take things in stride. She and my husband (her father) both try to out-do each other with their bad dad jokes, and her sense of sarcasm is impeccable.

I tell people that I dealt with a teenager the first 12 years of her life, and now I'm enjoying the easier years that most people have with their 7-11 year olds!

This is just to say, IT WILL GET BETTER. I'm only shouting because I want you to remember that. I never believed those women outside the grocery store (it happened so often...) but it's true, it really does get better.

Sometimes we'd have a bad day and I'd put her in bed, and then I would think, Tomorrow's a new day, we'll try again then. And that's exactly what we did. Every day is new and you get a new chance to try again.

Good luck! We're rooting for you![/quote]

I’m not the OP but I really appreciate this post. Going through a difficult time with my 1st grader and the perspective is incredibly helpful. Thank you[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics