From the comments I received from you all, I feel like I'm not alone. My daughter may appear to be bipolar at times, but she is actually just a normal 3.5 year old. Thank God for that. And thank you for sharing your experiences with me.
I just got off the phone with the Director of the babe's school. I have struggled all day with how to handle the biting/physical outbursts issue. I thought about calling the pediatrician to see if they knew of any anger management classes for 3 year olds. I thought about scheduling an official sit down meeting with the babe's school. Instead I just picked up the phone and called. I was transferred to the Director immediately and she spent 10 minutes talking to me.
To sum it all up, they think the babe is a super intelligent, sweet, and charismatic girl who is in a period of transition. She has only been in school since September and this has been a big change for her. Especially as she bumped up to the full day program in January. I need to take the time to be with her one on one and let her know just how special she is to me. She knows the little guy and I are alone together all day and she is jealous. After 2 years of having me all to herself, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Her brain is also exploding with knowledge and sometimes it's just plain overwhelming.
My husband and I have spoken to her at length about yesterday's behavior. We have gone over the need to use our words, control our bodies, take deep breaths, and to stop and think. We have explained that hands are not for hitting and mouths are not for biting. And we have told her we love her and know she is a good girl.
The staff at the school approached today as a brand new day with the babe. They were all positive and loving and I felt so good about leaving her with them. On the way to school we ran into the mother of the little girl the babe bit. I was nervous, but she was gracious, kind and supportive. When the babe apologized to her, she could not have handled it better.
Today IS a brand new day and I am going to try and handle it as such. I want that little girl to feel loved, even if that means I have to internalize my running commentary. I have to accept that I need to pick my battles, and running around at full speed with a crocodile xylophone is not something worth yelling over. It takes 2 to tango and I think that if I'm asking her to try harder, I have to be willing to do the same.
1 comment:
good for you for rallying. it's sometimes hard to remember our kids are adjusting to something and don't have any sophisticated ways of expressing the way they're feeling. Sheesh...I usually don't have much sophistication either...though somewhere along the line I learned not to bite. That's about it. Good luck trying harder....you are one dedicated and loving mama!
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