Would you say/do something about this?

Marce921

Lately, if something is too hard, he loses a game, or if I try to help him with something he wants to do himself, DS says, "I QUIT!" I don't like that he says this and have no idea where he got it from (unless it was MIL, because that's just the type of person she is). Would you say something to him about it so he stops or just ignore it? I can't decide what the best way to handle it is, but I know I really don't want him to continue this. TIA!

Emjay221

You and your mother in law must have a bad relationship to assume she's the sort of person to teach a kid to quit.  She can't have that bad of an idea on parenting if you married the man she raised.  Though I guess hardly anyone really likes their in-laws. 

Also... maybe he picked it up from other kids.  Or maybe you said "quit doing that" about something noisy or whatever, and he figured out that quit means stop. 

It's really not a big deal.  Let a kid be a kid.  I mean, he's only  3 and a half.  And a pretty cute kid at that.  He looks happy in his picture.  Sounds normal to me for a kid that age.

jessicaclare

I usually just say something like "its ok to be frustrated, why don't you take a break and try again in a little bit" or something like that. Its definitely a normal three year old attitude, but I also think its our job as parents to help our kids deal with different emotions. I try to address it in a way that is encouraging, but not flat out telling her what to do . If she really wants to quit, that's fine too.

Marce921

Emjay221:

You and your mother in law must have a wonderful relationship to assume she's the sort of person to teach a kid to quit.  She can't have that bad of an idea on parenting if you married the man she raised.

Also... maybe he picked it up from other kids.  Or maybe you said "quit doing that" about something noisy or whatever, and he figured out that quit means stop. 

It's really not a big deal.  Let a kid be a kid.  I mean, he's only  3 and a half.  And a cute kid at that... sounds normal to me.   

I'm not saying that my MIL "taught my kid to quit." I'm just saying she has the "quitting" personality. I could see her saying, "I quit" for various reasons in her life. She always plays the victim and never wants to do anything to fix it, but wants everyone to feel sorry for her.

Anyway, I'm asking if it's something I need to say something to him about... or if it's just something he may say some and then get over. I just don't want him to be the type of person to quit whenever anything gets "too hard." Period, end of story. I'm just looking for opinions from other parents on how they would handle the situation. Thanks for your input.

Emjay221

I don't think that at 3 it's a life defining issue.  They mimic.  He'll be fine. 

cbidt*sgirl

I think 3 is the perfect age to begin to teach your values. I would empathize with his frustration first and then add a message about how important it is to try hard and that you are proud of him for trying.