My 6 Year Old Has an Attitude Help

I see a lot of girls this age acting the same way. My daughter never did this, however. I'm not really sure why. I have always been a very open parent and told me kids exactly how things were going to happen. Just tell her in a firm voice that you don't like her attitude and you will not deal with it. She is using the "nobody likes me" as manipulation. Explain to her that a lot of people like her but the little fits are not helping the situation.

Well, even though your younger child will pick up things from the older one, this is an ineffective argument to a child, and could unintentionally cause conflict between siblings. I'd not use the "set a good example" conversation.

I think you're doing the right thing telling her that you don't like her behavior, but that you always love her. I'd recommend a book called "Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child." Sometimes the statement "nobody likes me" really means "I don't like how I'm behaving either but I don't know how to manage or verbalize my emotions." It takes time to really examine the situation and her reaction and trying to teach her different ways of handling things. It is her age, but it's also a critical time to teach her how tools that help her behave differently.

Good luck!

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My children had to "learn to use their words" to express and talk about problems. We all have to learn that at some point in life in order to get along with others and have less stress in our lives. When my son was two and began throwing temper tantrums I researched the matter and came up with a rule, a person in a our family could always be allowed to go to their room close the door and scream and have a fit for as much as they needed. When they could calm down, then they could open the door and come out. Surprisingly it worked.... my son followed the rule and eventually became old enough to use words to express his problems/emotions/thoughts, it worked with my daughter too (who was more prone to tantrums than my son), and it even worked with me a few times when I was frustrated beyond what I could stand but I didn't want the children to see me throwing a yelling fit. It worked great for us.... hope you find a way that works for you and yours.

I hear you, sister. Motherhood wasn't supposed to be yelling back at our yelling kids.

All the moms in our neighborhood have a Planet Spin board. It's a Rewards & Consequences chart, but it's cool. All the kids are grouping together to try for the same rewards like a slumber party or bowling party. We've learned to be specific with the behaviors we want changed like, "Say something nice to your brother" and "When you don't get your way, you are still nice." The kids get stars and u-turns and when they get enough stars, they pick one of the 6 rewards on the chart or make one of their own. Tantrums used to happen throughout the day, but now, MAYBE once a week! We got ours online at www.planetspinboard.com.

Good luck!

I think this is an attention getter. The same as you don't love me. Just calmly tell her once that you love her but not her attitude. Then ignore all other "not you don'ts" and such. After a while it will get boring because it is not creating the effect your daughter wants. After all you know you love her and you know she knows you love her so just let it slide.