My demanding 5 year old

Indie_Kid

It's just the way some children are. I agree with (sorry, I can't remember who!) the poster who said it's because you let her.

I did wonder how long it would be before the Autism comments would be mentioned. I read the OP's, didn't reply and was actually waiting for someone to say it.

GwylimT

All of ours went through a phase like this, it lasted almost three years for our daughter! They are just realising they aren't the centre of the world so it is a completelt normal way of having some control over their lives.

Kynthia

Children are different so it could be nothing more than that and she's not as good at controlling her emotions as her sister. Matching clothes and things being just right might be more important to her, or she may have sensitive skin and a lump in her sock and a collar rubbing could really annoy her.

Is it usually clothes related or is it about everything. My sister used to be a nightmare to dress for school; she would scream and cry and claim everything was itchy. It did turn out later she had a kidney condition and itchy skin is a symptom but that's quite rare.

January20

spartacusthe1st wrote: »

She's nothing like this at school and around other people.


I feel bad for her sister as she's so well behaved and she usually gets very little attention as I'm so busy trying to placate the younger one.

No other comments than these two sentences jump out of you post.

Read them and think about it.

gadjah543

I remember my lo being really fussy about the seams on socks when she was little. Only M & S passed the test. Now she is old enough to spend her own money it's Primark all the way for socks!

Errata

She's nothing like this at school and around other people.

Sounds like she's simply having tantrums - walk away and don't giver her an audience.

ognum

Errata wrote: »

Sounds like she's simply having tantrums - walk away and don't giver her an audience.

I agree, I have a child who was very like this as a toddler/ young child. It turned out she is highly intelligent, single minded, independent and capable and has a great job . Can hold down good personal relationships and enjoys life.

peachyprice

ognum wrote: »

I agree, I have a child who was very like this as a toddler/ young child. It turned out she is highly intelligent, single minded, independent and capable and has a great job . Can hold down good personal relationships and enjoys life.

Me too.

Little Mr Just So. Also highly intelligent.

I think the early years are particularly difficult for bright children, they have all this intelligence floating around but not necessarily the maturity to be able to release it.

Nicki

Try having a look at the book The Out of Synch Child by Carole Kranovitz which has lots of tips and techniques for helping children who are hypersensitive in certain situations.

Your daughter doesn't particularly sound like she has autism to me (or at least you haven't posted anywhere nearly enough information about her to make that judgment) but she does sound as though she notices stimuli that most of us take in our stride and finds these difficult sometimes and so she may need some coping mechanisms with them to make her (and the rest of the family's) life easier.

There is a checklist here of things which the book deals with and offers advice on

http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/sensory-processing-disorder-checklist.html

It's worth pointing out that we all experience some of these foibles at some times in our lives but most of us manage to keep things in sufficient balance not to cause us any problems. Some children and adults though need a bit of help to learn how to manage that balance but this is teachable.

jayII

peachyprice wrote: »

Me too.

Little Mr Just So. Also highly intelligent.

I think the early years are particularly difficult for bright children, they have all this intelligence floating around but not necessarily the maturity to be able to release it.

Yes, my 'feisty' youngest fits this description.


Both of mine are extremely bright, but the older child is far more laid back and has always had an intense curiosity about everything around him, from how the sun works (he asked me this at age 2-3) down to insects, water, people and so on. So that kept his mind busy and he rarely became as frustrated as his little sister managed to be.


To spartacus, mine are now at university and the eldest has never mentioned feeling deprived of my attention because his sister demanded so much. If her temper is ever mentioned, or if she flares up, he merely rolls his eyes and gives her a wry grin.


Another thought, my little one always needed lots of sleep and was far worse if she didn't get her 11 hours rest (her brother and I need 6 hours max), so it may be worth looking at her bedtime and waking routines.