4 yr old acting out horribly, HELP !!

KMorley3

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I have a 4 yr old little boy and expecting our second boy in July, for the past 2-3 weeks I have seen a dramatice change in DS behavior, he is back talking, acting out and just plain acting like a little sh*t !

We discipline him with timeout and taking  privileges away but it hasn't seemed to make a difference, this morning we had a melt down at his preschool with his attitude and smart mouth I struggled not to freak out, I was so embarassed by the time I left I called DH in tears, I blame some on hormones but I feel at a loss, I definately do not want my child to be considered "Super Nanny" material or for this to continue any longer,but I feel hopeless, do any of you guys have any kind of tips for nipping this behavior in the butt ?

AnnapolisLari

Sounds pretty typical of 4. Wish I could help, but mine is pretty much the same age as yours and I want to sell him to the gypsies.

KMorley3

AnnapolisLari:

Sounds pretty typical of 4. Wish I could help, but mine is pretty much the same age as yours and I want to sell him to the gypsies.

 

OMG !! you are so my best friend .lol, my boss could tell I had been crying this morning and asked what was wrong, I explained to her and said I was going to sell him to the gypsies ..LOL, that is so funny you would say the same thing.

I sometimes feel as if we are the only ones, we have friends with children the same age and they do not seem to act the way my monster does.

Glad to hear I am not alone !!

 

Thanks

jlw2505

4 can be a very hard age.  It is an age where they still want to be babied yet they want to do it all themself.  Add on top of that a baby on the way.  I would say he is acting out normally.  Have you read 1 2 3 Magic or Love and Logic?  Both are excellent books.  I have taken bits and pieces of both books and use them all the time with my girls.  With my older DD who will be 5 in June, other than her major tantrums (see my post below), her behavior is actually pretty darn good and I use these methods on her all the time.  I think all kids go through cycles where they are just figuring things out and can be more challenging than others.

Starr57

I offered my son up for sale on FB this morning. Hang in there.... It's tough, especially with the added stress of pregnancy.

hikerbeth

4 was absolutely the worst for us.

AnneUCSB

My 4 year old is so full of attitude, defiance and back-talk.  I am SO over 4.  Can't wait for 5.  We still have 9 more months to go

JOEBunny

Unlike with my 2 year old, I find the willful defiance to be much more frustrating.  DD did really well with a 28 day reward system around that age.  If she "was a good citizen" of our household for 28 days, she earned a pillow pet, which she really wanted.  I was not super strict about it, but it did include willful defiance, tantrums (when she wasn't over tired), and helping out mommy (getting on coat and shoes to leave the house, putting laundry away, staying in bed/room until we got her up.)  After that, a lot of these things became habits and I don't reward her for them anymore.

*Lu-Lu*

I am reading John Rosemond's The Well-Behaved Child right now.   I am really enjoying the insight and am preparing to put some of his advice to work.  Specifically his ticket system.     Our 4 year old is rocking our world right now.  

GL!