The Terrible Fives
My daughter was a bad sleeper. When you're not getting any sleep the tiniest thing can set you off so her early childhood was rough. Thankfully, she was never a bad kid during the day, she never wanted to be in trouble and as we near 12 what I say/think still carries a lot of weight for her. Her brother however.. is a totally different animal.Milo cares if people like him (he cares A LOT) but in the heat of the moment he doesn't care who you are or what you want, he is angry and he is going to give you all the attitude in his arsenal. We call him 'No-F*cks-McDaid'. Not to his face but, you get it.. parents have to blow off a little steam too. This morning I was lying in bed editing some photos on my laptop and waiting for my tea to cool enough to drink it - it was a happier time - when my quiet was intercepted by crying.. it's always crying. Milo cries daily, usually multiple times a day. Yesterday Milo very nearly cried because after taking him to football, the park and McDonalds we wanted to go shopping and he didn't. He also almost cried when his Dad didn't let him look at some shorts in a sports shop and he did cry when his sister wouldn't play his game his way.The crying has been a long time irritant but recently it's been backed up by a pre-teen attitude that would give Kevin a run for his money. Example:Me: "Milo, just stop it!"Milo: "You have to say stop it please"Me: "No I don't"Milo: "Then I don't have to stop it"What do you do with a kid like that? He is smart, he's manipulative, he's FIVE. Sometimes I'm talking to him and he's so rude I forget how old he is and chastise him as if he were 16, he cries.. it's a vicious cycle. Ella would never dream of questioning me even now.. no means no and that's the final answer so I just was not prepared for a kid that uses no as a jumping off point for negotiation. He saunters in to my room once he's calmed down and tries to reason with me point by point and explain why he was right and I should apologise to him.
I can hear him now, laughing and joking downstairs but I know that at any minute there will be a roar. The old adage 'It'll all end in tears' was made for Milo. It doesn't matter what he's doing or who he's with, it will end in tears. I think a big issue he has is that he's a part-time only child. Ella has just been away with her Dad and we haven't seen her for a week and a half so much as he's missed her (and they've played together constantly since she's been back) the fight for attention is back on and he needs to win, at all costs.I am so grateful for the age gap and that Ella is good because I couldn't cope with 2 of him! I also thank all of the gods on a daily basis that he lets us sleep and that when he's good he's really good but I'm very much looking forward to the end of the crying phase and praying that we can curb the attitude before it's too late.